Sorcery and Cinders
by auspizien
Summary: AU Modern Day. Sanji buys a pair of orange-tinted vintage sunglasses and finds himself bonded with a thousand year old warlock. An ancient evil, a green-haired man and the end of the world is only the beginning.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Sorcery and Cinders

Author: auspizien

Pairing: ZoroxSanji

Rating: M (violence, language, and mature themes)

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, nor the characters. Everything is because of Oda's wonderful mind.

Summary: AU Modern Day. Sanji buys a pair of orange-tinted vintage sunglasses and finds himself bonded with a thousand year old warlock. An ancient evil, a green-haired man, and the end of the world is only the beginning.

A/N: Zoro and Sanji both have interesting aliases in canon – Mr. Prince and Asura – so I figured it would be fun to play around with the idea. This is the result...

* * *

"Hey! Old man!" Sanji bellowed over his shoulder at his ageing uncle as he tossed his toqe on a shelf and shucked off his chef's uniform, "I'm taking my lunch break!"

"Damned brat!" Came the belted growl from over top of the other yells, bubbling soups, and searing pans that came to a cacophony of noise within the kitchen, "Thirty minutes! No less!"

Sanji numbly threw his apron onto a hook on the wall, before grabbing his jacket and stumbling out the back door with a relieved sigh. Leaning up against the brick wall he lit up a Marlboro, took a heady drag and tucked the lighter into his pocket along with the half full box of remaining cigs. He stood silently as he puffed on the stick trying to ease the stiffness in his back and soreness in his feet caused by the lunch time rush, he was just grateful that it was now his break.

Saturday was always his least favourite day of the week. True, he loved to cook, but when he was too busy trying to get his creations out of the kitchen and onto the tables it lost a bit of its joy. Though those rare moments when he could pause in his work and slip to the bar for a refreshment and glance around the restaurant at the people eating and see the gesture of a fork pointing to their plate with the obvious utter of 'this is amazing', it made it all worth while.

The ember died out and Sanji stubbed it on the wall, tossing the butt into a nearby trash can as he pulled out another smoke. Usually he limited himself to one per break but on Saturday's he made an exception. The Saturday rush always left him feeling exhausted by the end and he was always grateful that he had Sundays off to relax and recover. It was a casual job that paid the bills well while he made his way through University.

Best thing he had done was take a year course for a cooking license when in high school and now had been working at the Baratie ever since. The pay was great as he worked his way up to sous-chef and had more than enough money for his tuition, books, and bills.

Second cigarette finished Sanji disposed of it in the same manner as he had the first one before checking his wrist watch, noting that he still had another twenty minutes to blow. With his shoulders and body feeling drastically lighter thanks to two cigarettes he stepped out of the alley way and decided a small jaunt around the block would set him up for the next eight hours. Pity he had to work on such a nice day; the sky was an unmarked blue, the spring sun warmed the sidewalks as the last of winters snow was melted, and the streets were bustling happily with people getting their business done to spend the rest of the weekend at home in peace.

The street the Baratie was located on – East Blue – was the variable entertainment district of the area with the place lined by movie theatres, pizzerias and restaurants, opera houses, sex shops and a surplus of condominiums. A few up scale clothing shops littered the area, as well as places stuffed with knickknacks for the tourists.

Passing a tattoo parlour he noted some of the newest posters stapled to the board outside; some advertising bands playing in the nearby Soul King Concert Hall, others merely enquiring about lost pets. He side stepped a woman who had her head engrossed in her phone and noted a small shop that caught his eye.

The outer walls coated in a cracking black paint that spoke only of age, and the dust marred windows kept you from knowing what could possibly be inside. The place had a wooden ornate sign hanging from rusty hinges that read 'Antiques' and the paint of the words curling away from the actually carved word. The heavy oak door was just as intricately decorated with detailed carvings and peeling paint, aged by the elements. Sanji wasn't too big on antiques but the place had an odd air to it. An ancient and mysterious feel.

Sanji let his curiosity get the better of him and he entered the tiny, rustic pawn shop and glanced around at the stacks of antiques that tittered dangerously above him in piles that seemed physically impossible. Row upon rows of furniture, filled up the space with odd baubles and trinkets piled high on each. Books piled to the ceiling, their leather bound backs falling apart and were so old that the titles were no longer visible.

On vanities there was collections of hand mirrors, trinket boxes and all assortments of hundreds of years old jewelry, mixing with the odd vintage hand gun or wrist watch. One wall was completely devoted to ancient ticking clocks, all silent with their pendulums hanging from their bodies in a dead state that made the clocks look almost sad. A particular duck coated one caught his attention and he knew without a doubt it would be something his mother would decorate her house with.

A wrinkled old man crouched calmly behind the counter, flipping through an issue of Sports Illustrated that seemed oddly out of place in the ancient place. He licked his thumb and flipped the page, "Take a look around. Holler if you see something ya like."

"Will do." Sanji muttered with light derision as he glanced around the dust coated shop. With all the piles of knickknacks it left little room to actually move about the shop, but he managed to sidle his way over to a rather open area by the windows that were indeed so coated in dust that the sunlight from outside was barely able to get in and light up the interior.

He was just contemplating leaving when _they_ caught his eye. A pair of stylish, orange tinted glasses that looked a little out of place on the ottoman amongst all the other knickknacks covered in a light layer of dust. He picked them up and gently blew the dust off of them and turned them cautiously over in his hands.

Sanji couldn't explain what it was about them but he wanted them. Not only were they stylish but something about them just made him not want to let them go now that they were in his hand. Frowning, he inspected them lightly but they just appeared to be an ordinary pair of sunglasses. On a whim he asked, "How much for the glasses, old man?"

"Those?!" The old man's face crinkled in disbelief, "I don't even know how they got in here. Two belli."

Sanji snorted at the realization that the man was probably just selling a pair of specs that someone had set down by accident while on a foray through this dusty place. Regardless, Sanji shelled the coins from his pocket and tossed them onto the counter, giving the man a friendly nod as he pocketed the orange tinted shades and made his way out of the claustrophobic pawn shop.

~X~

Sanji spent his Sunday doing absolutely nothing, lounging in his boxers on the couch while flipping through all the pointless channels that he paid a ridiculous amount for every single month. He finished up a small essay for school at one point, and did his daily work out before finally crawling into the shower at about four in the afternoon.

By five Sanji was fully dressed and made his way outside and down to the sky train station to head over to Blue City to see his parents. The hour long ride passed relatively quickly as he listened to some calming music on his iPod as he prepared himself for the whirlwind of emotions that would hit him upon getting to his parents.

Sundays on the train were relatively empty so he didn't have to worry about playing his music too loud, or bumping elbows with the person next to him. And soon he was at his stop and hopping from the train onto the platform, breathing in the fresh salty air that was a welcome refreshment after sitting in a stuffy automotive for the past hour.

Sanji walked the few blocks from the sky train to the cozy neighbourhood that he had grown up in; riding his bike, playing hockey in the streets and had snowball fights with the kids next door. The yards were all movie material with their white picket fences, mowed lawns and adorable gnome ornaments. The houses themselves were all professional panelling with cute Disney shingled roofs.

His parents house wasn't much different, unmarred white panelled walls and precisely shingled roof. His mother kept the yard prim and proper, the rose beds out front overflowing with daisies, chrysanthemums, and lilies. They were very ordered and proper people, originally from France and with very high standards. Sometimes Sanji wondered how he didn't grow up to become as obsessed as them but he guess he owed it to all the time he spent hanging with his uncle. His parents loved the time alone, but hated the resulting swearing.

Even though he grew up in this house he knew he had to knock or end up with a manners lashing from his father. Three precise knocks and he clasped his hands neatly behind his back and awaited the tidal wave of fussing that was his mother. The high pitched shriek and running footsteps announced his mother had heard and was making her way over to smother him.

The door flew open and he was swept into the arms of a bubbly, little brunette with bouncing ringlets and the brightest blue eyes as kisses were placed all over his face. "Sanji, come in, come in, sweetie." His mother dragged him in as he she attempted to strangle him with her arms, "Oh, I missed you."

"Mom." Sanji laughed as he returned the hug, "We have dinner every Sunday."

"I know, and those six days in between are torture!" She wailed as she finally released him to let him remove his shoes in the foyer and entire the living room to greet his father.

"Sanji." His father nodded politely as he glanced up from his paper, Sanji returned the greeting with a nod and the man then turned back to his news.

His father was almost the precise opposite of his mother; refined, withheld, stoic and quietly judgemental. He had had Sanji learning advance calculus before he was even in high school, and been making him save for college with his allowance money since fifth grade.

Most kids fathers were the type to be on the wild side, or the one you would run to to ask for something your mother wouldn't allow, but in this household it was the other way around. The man was a bloody brick wall and the only clue you'd get that you'd made him happy was the slightest quirk in the corner of his lips – something that a six year old boy could not figure out that easily.

Sanji followed his mother into the kitchen to help with dinner – not wanting to be left alone with his father, though he knew that the eventual conversation of his schooling was inevitable – getting wine glasses and the various cutlery ready. She was an amazing cook and Sanji had definitely gained her skill, but she flatly refused help. So setting the table was as much as she would allow Sanji to do.

"By the way we're having the Jewelry family over as well." She explained slyly, "I think you'll be interested to know that they have a daughter."

"Cool." Sanji replied absently as he took the wine glasses into the dining room and sighed heavily, not that he was adverse to meeting new women but his mother was a bit of fanatic about setting him up with the daughters of rich and renown families in the area. At first it had been interesting meeting the girls but most of them turned out to be spoiled brats – not that he still didn't fawn over them excessively – but it was beginning to get old and no matter how many times he told his mother he didn't like it she wouldn't stop.

It wasn't so much that it was the girls – a few of them had amazing personalities and he would gladly meet with them again – it was the fact that he had no choice in the matter. He wanted romance; something from the movies where he would meet the girl of his dreams, battle evil and then marry her because they were clearly meant to be. Being hooked up at his parents dinner party and forced into a marriage of aristocratic duties was definitely not what he had in mind.

Glasses properly set he returned to the kitchen in time to hear the doorbell ring to announce the addition to his hell. His mother immediately bolted to answer, and Sanji could vaguely hear her greeting them with happy coos and professional mannerisms. Sanji gently opened the oven to get a whiff of the glorious roast that was cooking and had to admit that his mother had done a good job. Though maybe a tad too much sage.

Sanji closed the oven and rose to meet eyes with a pink haired girl that was ushered in the room by his mother. She was very beautiful indeed – the type Sanji would definitely go for – with an athletic figure and wearing shorts and a shirt that probably gave her father a heart attack on a regular basis, "Sanji. This is Bonney."

There was a fraction of a second where Sanji stood staring blankly before his fake mask slid into place and he began his charade for his mother. Dropping to a knee he scooped up the girls hand and placed a chaste kiss to the baby smooth skin, "Ah, how lucky I am to gaze upon such a beautiful figure as yourself."

Bonney seemed unimpressed and pulled her hand away, "When are we going to eat?"

"In a minute deary." His mother promised before winking at Sanji, "I'll leave you two alone for a minute alright?"

Sylvia swept from the room as fast as she had entered obviously with the intent to properly show the Jewelry's around the home before ushering them into the dinning room. But even with her absence he continued with the gooey act and cooed over the girl politely.

"My bubble-gum sweethe-"

"Cut it out will you." Bonney snorted as she gave him an annoyed look, "And don't become an actor, you suck."

Sanji's masked dropped in an instant as he watched the girl walk around him and go over to inspect the dishes that were just waiting to be carried out to the table. She leaned down to glance in the oven before back to the entrees and Sanji watched her quietly.

"You can tell?" Sanji asked wearily as he rose to his feet and watched the girl as she stuck a finger in the mashed potatoes and pulled out a clump to suck on.

"Duh." She said around the mouthful, "Besides, before you started your act you looked like you wanted to puke."

"Oh." Was the only sound that left Sanji's mouth as he felt slightly guilty about her noticing and annoyed that apparently he was that obvious.

"Relax." She grinned cheekily as she grabbed a couple peas and began tossing them into the air and catching them in her mouth, "I know how you feel about this whole being sold off thing. I hate it."

"You too, huh?"

"Unfortunately." Bonney replied as she finished the last of her peas before placing her hands on her hips, "But let's make a deal. We act like we're interested just for the meal to get our parents off our backs. Sound good?"

"That – that sounds fantastic." Sanji replied after a moment as he realized just how many brownie points this would score with his mother if she thought that he and a girl were actually hitting it off.

"None of that swirly lovey dovey shit though, okay?" Bonney pointed a finger at him, "Just romantic."

"Madmoiselle," Sanji took her hand and bowed gracefully, "Romantic is my middle name."

~X~

The table was rather lively unlike some unfortunate dinners he'd had where there had just been a long awkward silence between everyone situated at the table. Ms. Jewelry was avidly chatting to his mother about the gardening club that they both attended and Sanji assumed that must have been where the two had met and conspired to set up himself and Bonney. Bonney herself was completely engrossed in the meal and ate with the vigour and excitement of a twelve year old boy who had just gained a metabolism, occasionally he would offer some compliment or conversation and she would respond in kind, and judging from the happy smiles from the two mothers they were more then satisfied with the results.

His father and Mr. Jewelry were busy talking politics and the latest stock scare that had been affecting a few companies and Sanji pretended to listen only to satisfy his father. The dinner was finished and his mother brought out some apple pie with homemade vanilla ice cream and the conversations turned toward each other. Ms. Jewlery was now quietly fussing over her daughters ice cream smeared face and unfortunately it gave his father the opportunity to turn to him and begin the weekly inspection.

"How are classes going?" His father asked curtly as he cut a piece of pie with a decisive stroke of the edge of his fork, "Keeping your GPA up, I hope."

"Yes, father." Sanji replied with all the excitement of a person on Tax-Day, "Mid-terms are soon and I feel pretty confident about them."

"Confidence is arrogance." His father scolded with a disapproving frown, "You make sure to study."

"But my GPA is a steady 3.8 and I-"

"That isn't a 4.0 is it?" His father interjected haughtily, "Room for improvement."

"Yeah." Sanji agreed quietly with a sigh as he gave in to his father once more, instead opting for shoving his melting ice cream around his plate in an angry pout. He had actually been feeling pretty good about this whole dinner up until now; trust his father to put him in a pissy mood in less than a minute.

"How do you expect to become a lawyer with that attitude." His father continued shrewdly, "You need to strive and be aggressive; this doesn't seem like passionate behaviour."

"Sorry, father." Sanji apologized as he scooped up a bit of the dripping ice cream and held it aloft on his fork forlornly, "I've just been having a tiresome week."

"Life is tiresome." His father responded, "And that sounds like lazy excuses to me. How many times have I told you that excuses will get you no where in life?"

It was a rhetorical question so Sanji didn't answer; his father loathed when people answered his rhetorical questions – a fact Sanji had learned at a very young age though he hadn't even known what the word rhetorical meant at the time.

As though like a God send Bonney seemed to notice his situation and pipped up, "Oh, you're a University boy? What are you taking?"

Sanji turned to her and gifted her with the biggest smile, he owed her big for getting her away from such a nasty conversation, "Law and Business. The two go hand in hand you see, but my real goal is to become a lawyer; eventually a State judge."

He could see Bonney's eyes already going cross with boredom but kept up the charade with a nod and an interested, "Oh, really?"

Sanji started to explain his classes and his father eventually gave up on his criticisms and invited Mr. Jewelry to the lounge for a scotch and a cigar. His mother led Mrs. Jewelry out to the green house in the back yard and soon they were both left alone and Sanji immediately stopped talking. Bonney had clearly not been paying attention to a word and was actually licking the pie plate clean now that her parents were out of the room.

"Your dad's an old grouch."

"Yeah, he can be a little rough around the edge's." Sanji admitted guiltily, "I owe you for that though, thank you."

"Don't mention it." Bonney waved a dismissive hand, "My parents have their moments too. Though mostly it's them complaining that I'm _not _getting a real job."

"What do you mean?"

"I work at the rec centre teaching a peewee kids soccer team and I'm training for Nationals; I wanna get on the National Team. But they don't see that as a real career; they want me to be more like you; go to school, get a degree, and then get a nine to five job that bores my brain out."

"To each his own?" Sanji offered absently, placing the thin rim of the glass to his lips and sipping at the oaky flavour of the aged wine.

"Sure." Bonney agreed as she grabbed another slice of pie and dropped it onto her plate, "I'm mean; what they don't seem to understand is that I want to spend my life doing what I love. But they worry about money, and how I'll make a living."

"Well," Sanji offered casually, "I'm sure if they love you they'll understand." Though he wondered at the odd feeling that accompanied those words, making him feel a little at unease. Bonney seemed to want to say something judging by the way she pursed her lips, but she seemed to decide against it and instead opted for finishing her pie.

They made small talk for the next hour before they heard their parents in the living area claiming that it was beginning to get late. They made their way over to the entrance as Bonney commented with a toothy grin, "This was actually not so bad," She snatched up Sanji's hand in a firm shake, "And it should keep the parents happy for a while."

"Hopefully." Sanji mused as he gave the hand a quick peck as their parents made their way over to the foyer, their chatting having gotten louder throughout the night as more Bourbon had been ingested. His mother was sporting an impressive flush to her cheeks and Mrs. Jewelry looked to be leaning a little too heavily on her husband.

"Oh, I do hope you come to visit Bonney some time." Mrs. Jewelry cooed as she grabbed a chunk of Sanji's cheek and pinched it for good measure, "You two got on so well; I can almost hear the wedding bells."

"Mhm." Sanji hummed noncommittally as he winced in pain, desperately wanting to get out of this woman's taloned grip and away from her scary notions of _marriage_. "It was very nice to meet you."

She released his cheek and gave it a firm little smack, "Such a sweet boy. Much better then that Kidd fellow you've been hanging around lately Bonney."

"Mom, c'mon." Bonney urged in annoyance, grabbing her drunk mother's arm and dragging her towards the door, "Time to go."

With a little struggling, and a sloppy kiss to the cheek goodbye, Bonney finally pulled her mother off of Sanji and managed to get her out the front door and over to the car. Mr. Jewelry gave small, whispered apology for his wife's behaviour, and his mother waved it off with a cheery smile claiming she wasn't that far off from that herself. A quick, firm goodbye and Mr. Jewelry was out the door as well.

Sanji took the opportunity and stepped outside, feet hardly in his shoes as he pulled on his jacket. His mother came out onto the small porch to wave goodbye to the Jewelry's as they got into their car before turning to Sanji.

"Sure you don't want a ride to the station, dear?" His mother offered somewhat desperately as he made his way down the cobblestone pathway and out onto the street. Sanji knew what she _really_ wanted and he was in no mood to divulge.

"I'll be fine. Love you." He shouted absently over his shoulder and strode purposefully down the street feeling more tired and worn out then what the entire week of work and school had done to him. After dealing with the annoyance of his mother trying to set him up with as many aristocratic rich girls as she could find, and his father nit picking everything he did, he always left feeling more stressed and angry then when he'd entered.

Hands shoved angrily into his pockets he made his way back through the neighbourhood and to the train station. He had flatly refused his mother's offer to drive him the short distance, not needing her to interrogate him about what he thought of Bonney and give his head such a thorough cavity search she might as well work for an airline company.

Though she would phone at some point and enquire as to what he thought and if she should invite them over again and Sanji would always supply the same answer. 'Yeah, she was okay. Family seemed nice.' That would be the end of it and his mother would end the phone call with a huff of annoyance and claiming that he was such an annoyingly picky person.

He made his way up the concrete stairs that were littered with used tickets and bubblegum and appeared on the upper platform, waiting on the left side for the downtown transit. Rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet he tried to put the whole ordeal behind him, pulling out his iPhone only to find it dead and returning it to his pocket with a sigh.

The train soon pulled in, the forceful wind causing his hair to whip at his face and expose more of his embarrassing eyebrows. The doors slid open and Sanji stepped on swiftly and took a spot on one of the longitudinal seats, shoving his hands deep into his pockets with a scowl. This bad mood was going to last him until work and then he'd just start to cheer up before he'd have to go back and have the ordeal all over again. Man, but his parents could be annoying at times.

The train came to a halt at the next station and Sanji unconsciously leaned in the opposing direction to correct the sudden change in balance. Without the distraction of music he was going to have to spend the next hour sitting in silence and reading the passing signs and advertisements in boredom. It was much the same as when he was eating cereal and the box suddenly became the only thing he could focus on while munching away at the grains.

There was a new STI sign with the obnoxious caption of 'Getting tested is easy as one, two, pee.' and right beside it was a sign about a new adoption agency. The juxtaposition had Sanji chuckling quietly to himself as he turned to look at any other new signs that he could analyze in his boredom. Much of them were the same however, a few about thanking the riders for using the train and helping keep the planet green and the rest advertising Universities in the area.

A woman across from him pulled out a newspaper, checked the front for any compelling stories, and then turned to a page within that was to her interest. The front lines from what Sanji could see were pretty dull and expected; another school shooting, a historical coat stolen from some prestigious museum and the newest scandal about a member of congress sleeping with some hooker. All in all a regular report in today's news.

Sanji sighed as he realized he had run out of reading material and checked the station line up above the automatic doors. Seven stations left; not too bad. He was already imaging collapsing onto his couch and watching movies into the late hours of the night. Screw first class on Monday; teachers were always lazy anyway.

~X~

Sanji got home and tossed his black coat onto the couch haphazardly, before grabbing some scotch and a glass and following suit by collapsing onto the comfy lounge chair in the corner. A temporarily full glass, and a burning throat later Sanji slumped further in the seat with a groan of satisfaction as he flexed his feet and refilled his glass.

Several heavy drinks were usually the only solution to a day with the parents, needing to kill off any malicious or depressed feelings that were spurned after dealing with them. They were the main reason he had a small drinking problem – the space under the sink was getting full of empty bottles of spiced rum again – it was either drink, or spend the day at the gym. A strenuous workout usually helped with relieving his anger.

Glancing around his apartment he deemed it clean enough that he could lie comatose on the couch tomorrow and not feel guilty about a mess. His eyes caught the orange reflecting off of the coconut shade of brown on his carpet and frowned, sitting up slightly to focus on the glasses he had forgotten were in his pocket.

Sanji still couldn't place why he had bought them. As soon as he had picked them up he had known that he need to have them; though why was a question still puzzling him. He was hardly an impulse shopper, but he wasn't even the glasses type of person in the first place.

Lazily, he slumped in his seat and nearly knocked over his glass of rum as he toed the glasses closer to himself before bending down to properly pick them up. Inspecting them closer he found they were Ralph Lauren – eyes bulging somewhat at the fact – they would cost at least two hundred at retail value. He whistled low, impressed as he turned them over casually, before flipping them open and carefully setting them on his nose.

Everything went black.

~X~

Prince opened his eyes, and gasped at the sudden feeling of air drawing into his lungs, almost choking on the foreign sensation he sat up and placed a hand to his chest and beat it roughly to help himself get accustomed. After an undignified moment he recovered and ran a hand through his hair to calmly assert himself before glancing over his body in slight disbelief.

Carefully shifting a leg he was delighted to see the appendage follow his command, muscles in his upper thigh tensing so he could lift and move the leg lightly. Feeling the sensation of something wet on his foot he leaned forward carefully to inspect the tumbler glass laying on its side on the floor with a stain of alcohol branching out from it. The amber liquid causing the earth toned floor to go a shade darker.

Eyes wide in shock he pressed his foot a little firmer against the stain, and choked out a laugh of disbelief as he could actually _feel_ the sensation of the cool wetness against his skin. The small chuckle turned into a full on laugh as he began turning his attention to the rest of his limbs and enjoying the sudden control and sensations he had. Brushing a hand against the soft velvet of the chaise he stared in awe as he felt the feather soft fibres under his touch.

Still in awe of this new body, he finally glanced up at the room that he was in – so much more detailed than looking through the vale that he constantly looked through while trapped in those glasses – the apartment was casually stylish with pleasant earthy tones, rich browns donned most of the walls and floor and everything else was trimmed or highlighted in healthy greens. Prince was less fascinated by Sanji's furnishing choices and was more in awe of how vibrant and _real_ the colours appeared to him through real eyes.

Prince stood carefully – getting used to standing with the muscular legs of this man's body – tilting his head from side to side to get more adjusted to the body he was now inhabiting. Twisting his back in a nice stretch before extending and then clenching his hands to adjust to the dexterous fingers he now possessed. The body was perfect. Fit, strong and similar to his old one.

After a small exploration he found that the man owned a decent sized apartment; one bed, one bath, and an extravagant kitchen. Prince entered the bathroom, eyes wide in wonder at the feeling of the cool tiles beneath his feet, and he touched a towel hanging from a bar amazed at how soft the fibres felt against his hand. He noted the vanity and stepped in front of it to inspect himself.

The man that he was inhabiting was very attractive. His body was lean, but muscular and he had somewhat pale skin. His hair was long and blond, falling into his eyes in an attractive way – eyes that were a bright blue that reminded him of his old ones – and odd curled eyebrows adorned his brow. No wonder the man kept his hair long.

Prince dragged back the bangs to inspect them more critically and found that they actually weren't that bad – he actually kinda like them. He leaned back and righted the hair with a flick of his hand before glancing at his reflection and gave a charming grin, flashing perfect white teeth.

Prince did a narcissistic turn in the mirror to inspect all the aspects of his body – still ecstatic that the reflection was actually under his command – proud that he had somehow managed to awaken in the body of a young man who was so physically fit.

He reached into the blonds pocket and pulled out a pack of smokes, "Sweet fuck, yes." He hummed to himself happily as he pulled out a stick, placed it between his lips and searched the other pocket for a lighter. One was quickly procured and he sighed in relief at breathing in sweet smoke that he had craved for _years_.

After he had two full cigs he finally felt relaxed enough and he pocketed the packet and lighter. He righted the blond's shirt and looked back up into the mirror, banishing the butt of the smoke with a twist of his hand and snap of blue magic.

"Well." Prince grinned at the gorgeous reflection, "Let's take this body for a spin."

~X~

Prince ran along the roof tops not bothering to hide his grin and barely restraining his boisterous laughter that threatened to break free. He wanted to scream at the top of his lungs to show his elation at finally – finally – being free of those damned glasses. Instead he muttered a few ancient Latin words which caused his magic to pervade his body and allowed him to launch himself up onto the roof top of a nearly twenty store building.

A millennium of watching the world go by while being stuck within and old pair of spectacles. How long had he sat in that old shop as an old pair of specs? Waiting for someone to come along and adopt him? Waiting for that one person in all of eternity that he could share a body with?

From within the shades he had seen the blond enter the shop and had just _known_. Known that he was the right one, that the man was clearly what he had been waiting centuries to find. When the blond had turned his back to talk to the shop keep Prince had immediately transformed the old pair of specs into a newer pair that suit the man's look and attitude, and sure enough the blond had spotted him and had felt the same jolt.

The way his blue eyes widened was proof enough that the man had felt the connection, even if he hadn't recognized it the string of destiny had wrapped itself around him and dragged him to Prince. The hand had picked him up, and almost without pause he had been purchased and stuffed into the man's pocket.

Sanji. As his name turned out to be. He had discovered this after they had returned to a restaurant and a cook had shouted the name and yelled an order for him to complete. Sitting in the pocket had been dull, but after centuries of doing much the same he was used to it. And he had learned a bit about Sanji in the process.

Not only was he a cook, but a talented cook at that. The staff were all rather vulgar but there was an underlying respect for the young man. He was smart, too, able to memorize all the recipes, as well as help others with their tasks. Prince couldn't have been happier to know that his host was such an intelligent and aspiring young man. With a little bump from fate he had been able to fall from his pocket and grab the blond's attention. No sooner then he had been picked up and put on.

And now he was free.

Prince skidded to a halt and glanced out over the city, winding whipping at his face while he took in the breathtaking scene. Just the notion that he was able to have his breath stolen caused a pang in his chest at the wonderful concept of being alive again.

The buildings fell and rose as they stretched out toward the horizon, a few rose up and blocked a bit of the sky but only seemed miniscule compared to the vastness of the endless space above. Living in a pair of glasses had kept him in touch with the advancements of the world but it didn't even compare to the sight before him. Seeing for himself the evolution of infrastructure and society. Prince was still a little in awe at the change in architectural advancements since the time he had come from. The castles that he had seen when he had been flesh and bone had been magnificent and left you breathless in their menacing beauty, and the glittering quartz halls had left you feeling like you were in a dream. But these towering buildings were a different sort of magnificent.

Clouds drifted lazily across the light blue of dusk, tinged vibrant purples from the setting sun that was now dipping behind the taller of the buildings that made up the city. The smooth metals and shiny glass made it seem like he was staring out upon a world of crystal as it glittered and reflected the warm orange glow from the setting sun.

Prince stood there and watched until the last rays of light dispersed and one by one the city became alive with the twinkle of lights that made the town look like it was actually moving and had a life of its own. Golden orbs thrived in the thousands, their iridescent glow hypnotic as they seemed to shudder. Sounds erupted from within as the city became alive – honks of taxis trying to weave through traffic and the distance notes of music from a nearby busker – the intricacies and networks of the human species as they went about their lives without knowing how glorious it was.

Glancing around his closer surroundings he wondered exactly where he was. Sure he was vaguely able to keep up with the year thanks to the conversations he over heard, but there was so much he missed. So much he didn't understand. So much he wanted to know.

For now however there was only so much he could do until Sanji knew that he existed. He would definitely respect the human being that now gave him life, however that wouldn't stop him for exploring. Hopping down from the tall apartment complex he had stopped to sight see from he landed on a much smaller building that was hardly one storey tall.

Prince went up to the edge of the building, leaned up against the cautionary railing and pulled out a smoke and lit up, taking a heady drag before blowing out a stream which slowly drifted up and dispersed until it had disappeared completely. Tobacco tasted drastically different now than it did back when he had been alive but he wasn't going to complain; he'd been craving it forever, he wasn't about to be picky.

But at the forefront of his mind was the memories of his last moments of life and the pain that accompanied the reminiscing. Despite the circumstances of his death – what might yet come to pass – all he knew was that he needed to find Asura. But where was he supposed to begin? He could be anywhere and with his limited magic and Sanji being unaware there was only so much he could do...

A little girl exited the convenience store that Prince was currently lurking on top of and set off down the street with her cute red curls bouncing as she walked, purse slung around her as she sung a little tune. The sharp whistle was enough to bring Prince from his musing and glanced down at her with a small smile.

Prince's eyes anticipated her path and noted a man further down the sidewalk, lurking suspiciously by the entrance of an alleyway. His head turned slightly to watch the girl draw nearer and Prince stiffened as he watched the young girl get closer and closer.

The man didn't have to do a thing. The girl stood frozen in fear as the thug grabbed the purse and ripped it off of her before strolling away with a laugh. She stood for a moment paralysed by fear before the light of a passing car illuminated the tears that threatened to spill.

Prince growled low and immediately set out on a run across the building's tops, passing the still proud man and dropping down into an alley way, making his way to the end but still remaining in the shadows so as to remain invisible. The man was getting close and Prince flexed his new fingers as he prepared for a fight.

Just as the man appeared beside the alley Prince dove out, snatched the purse and dropped low, kicking straight up into the man's jaw. Their was a satisfyingly sickening crunch as several teeth rained out of his mouth, and his jaw was crushed against his skull, with barely any resistance the body fell back on the ground with a garble cry of pain.

Prince straightened his stance with a snort – casting a wary glance around to make sure no one had seen the spectacle – and walked around till he could pressed the heel of his shoe against the groaning man's throat.

"You make me sick." Prince spat, "Enjoy fixing that jaw."

He kicked the pained body into the alley way so that he would be out of the way of passersby. A grunt of pain as the man landed on the cement only served to satisfy Prince more and he set off down the street swinging the purse from the strap on his finger as he whistled a tune.

Prince eventually found the little girl outside of the convenience store she had originally come out from. She sat on the step to the store, head buried in her arms as she cried heavily, tiny body jerking with each sob. Prince laid a gently hand on her back and she jumped, head snapping up to look at Prince in fear.

"Did you drop this?" Prince offered with a charming smile and proffered the purse gently.

The little girl's face lit up and she snatched the purse up in hug, holding tight as though afraid to let go again. Prince smiled lightly in satisfaction before offering as he stood, "C'mon. I'll walk you home so you don't run into any more trouble."

"Thank you so much." She pipped up, "It has my grandma's medicine in it. We don't have much money so when it was stolen I-"

"Say no more." Prince chuckled and straightened lightly in shock as her small hand grasped his tightly.

"I'm Xiao." She grinned up charmingly and Prince returned the look all the while staring down at the hand in wonder.

He hadn't touched another person in centuries. The last person he had been in contact with had been holding him, kissing him as he had been dying. He could hardly remember what that touch had actually felt like and was barely a shadow on his mind. The flesh currently in his hand was warm, soft and oh-so-small and delicate; but the sensation of holding the hand of someone else who was alive was incomprehensible. Just being able to feel that incomparable warmth, that pulse of blood coursing through, that feeling of being alive.

Prince let out a shaky breath as they walked down the street, the little girl leading way as he mindlessly kept up, his thoughts wandering off into the distant past where he had still been alive. Old memories and emotions were beginning to once more surge to the surface – even after a millennium of mulling them over – he still agonized over whether things could have ended differently.

_I promise I'll find you._

Prince unconsciously clenched the girl's hand tighter as he remembered those words and forcefully shook his head to bring himself back to the present. They began to cross a dimly lit crosswalk, the little box with the neon green word of 'WALK' was lit up as they made their way across the large white striped pavement, their footsteps audible as no traffic was out on these streets at this time.

"That's him!" A garbled voice yelled.

Prince glanced up and noted the man he had kicked earlier, smashed face barely recognizable through all the blood coating his features. His voice was majorly impaired by his broken jaw, but it seemed he had been persevering enough to find some friends and come back for revenge.

Xiao took a step back with a tiny whimper and Prince tightened his hold on her hand reassuringly, "It'll be okay."

A man who could only be described as resembling a gorilla – with his hulking figure and protruding forehead – revved the engine of his bike in anticipation as the rest of the gang sat more casually on their bikes with mocking looks. Prince casually took a step forward to state wordlessly that he wouldn't run and was rewarded by chuckles of disbelief and scoffs of idiocy from the gang members.

The gorilla man spun out causing the front tire to lift a little before he jerked into motion and drove directly at Prince. All the men cheered him on foolishly, and the confidence of the leader was boosted to ridiculous levels. Prince raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

Was the man really trying to hit him with his bike?

Prince rolled his eyes and remained where he was unfazed, one hand in his pocket as the other continued to hold Xiao's hand. From the sounds she was making it seemed that she was utterly terrified, but she didn't try to run which made Prince like her infinitely more. Under his breath he whispered a few archaic Latin words and the invisible magic once more coated his body and imbued itself within his limbs.

As the biker neared, his face broke out in a grin showing uneven yellowing teeth as he seemed to realize that no matter what Prince was going to get hit by the bike. Neither could avoid that collision as the space between them narrowed down from fifteen feet to nine to four. Xiao was whimpering in distressed but remained rooted to the spot.

Prince instinctively dropped and wrapped himself around the little girl, holding her protectively as he braced one hand on the ground and brought his foot up to stop the bike in its tracks. The metal cracked as his shoe imbedded deep in the body, the front wheel fell off uselessly and oil squirted from the cracked engine. The sudden stop had the biker flying off his bike and colliding with a fire hydrant on the side of the road, from the crunch Prince assumed he must have cracked his skull open. His hand came up to cover Xiao's eyes so she wouldn't see the blood.

Shifting his weight Prince spun and kicked the bike aside sharply sending it whirling across the street and into a nearby brick wall. The collision had the bike bursting into flames and falling to the ground in a heap of burning metal. Prince right his stance, holding Xiao in his arms as he gave the gang a malicious grin.

There was a quite moment where nothing happened and then every bike roared to life as they all turned, abandoned their boss and took off down the street utterly terrified. The tires squelched in their haste to flee, leaving black streaks along the already dark pavement. Once the last of them were out of sight Prince tightened his hold on Xiao and launched himself up, hand grabbing the top of the lamp post and swing himself up onto it before jumping onto the nearby roof and sprinting as fast as he could away from the scene. Once they had gotten a few blocks away Prince slowed to a stop and caught his breath.

"Are you a super hero?" Xiao broke the silence, staring up at Prince wide-eyed and in awe.

"Ah – no, not really." Prince chuckled, as he glanced around trying to get a bearing on his location.

"But you kicked that bike like it was nothing. You're like Superman or something." Xiao continued on in awe, "How did you do that?"

"Listen, that's not important." Prince dismissed her questions, "Where do you live?"

"Merveille Street. 142 Shiki Apartments."

Prince immediately set off at a run, vaguely remembering Sanji passing that street on his bus home from work, it had many extravagant buildings along its path as well as a baobab trees lining the sidewalk in appropriate intervals. Subtlety using branches of his limited magic so as not to alert Xiao he managed to lead himself in the right direction.

The apartment building wasn't actually that far away – only a few blocks from the pharmaceutical store that Prince had found Xiao outside of – and he quickly hopped down from on of the neighbouring buildings and crossed the street over to the complex that was labelled with an elegant sign of fine curvature that read, 'Shiki Apartments'.

The apartment building that he found himself outside of had two large baobab trees bordering the entrance, which led up to a pair of large double glass doors, the lobby barely visible through the reflective glass. Towering at least twenty stories a pattern of balconies was established on the southern side, as the rest were merely coated in a reflective glass. Prince dropped into a crouch, gently set Xiao down on the front step and grinned, "You'll be okay now, yeah?"

"Mhm." Xiao nodded, her red hair bobbing, "Thank you."

"And next time you get someone to go with you to get that medicine. Got it?"

"Yup." Xiao had to use all of her body weight to pull open one of the large double doors, leaning bodily against it to keep it open as she waved to Prince, "See you later."

Prince gave a jaunty wave as Xiao entered and the large door swung shut. He heaved a happy sigh as he glanced around the city that was now completely blanketed by night, the sky above an endless dark blue while the city below sparkled to make up for the lack of stars. Reluctantly, Prince turned and slowly made his way back to Sanji's apartment.

~X~

Sanji's eyes fluttered open and the blurred visage of his living room came into view. Annoying fractions of light speared through the gaps in the blinds and pierced his eyes in the most painful way possible. He dragged a heavy hand to his face and rubbed his eyes trying to get rid of that sand-in-eye feeling that came with little sleep.

The small movement of his arm burned in a way akin to how a muscle felt after a good workout, though he really couldn't explain why he was that sore. Work never affected him that much. He sighed heavily and assumed he might as well get into some hangout clothes, make some breakfast and set about accomplishing nothing for the day,

Placing his feet sturdily on the ground he pushed himself up, paused for a moment as the pain was registered in his sluggish brain and then toppled over with a cry of pain. His feet hurt a million times more than when he went to sleep and his body felt like he had been hit by a truck. The pain that shot through his legs had him sitting back down with a groan.

Fuck, he was never going to drink on a Sunday again.

TBC...

* * *

A/N: Meet Prince. The thousand year old warlock that now inhabits Sanji Black's body.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N:Uftaki - Yes! It was totally a reference to Vancouver, B.C.! It was also a partial pun with the whole Sea Train, but it wouldn't really work on land so I changed it. I'm glad you caught it! To be honest I haven't travelled much in my life, so I picture most of my fics taking place in a Vancouver like city. Just a little fun fact :)

Anyway, on with the story...

* * *

Sanji sat slumped at the back of his Business 200 class, Mac open on his lap and his fingers lazily resting on the keys as his professor went on about foreign currency issues and outsourcing. His brain wasn't really taking much in and he was very grateful that the class slides were posted online for anyone like himself who was mentally absent from the lecture.

It wasn't that he didn't like the class – he actually found it quite interesting – but as of late he had found himself completely worn out and lacking sleep. Not that he didn't get enough sleep, but the sleep he did get didn't seem to be enough and his body was constantly sore like he had just done a ridiculous work out. He was honestly becoming concerned that maybe he was getting a weird type of insomnia or something.

The professor began writing down a date on the board with accompanying times, class room number and chapters. Above he quickly scribbled 'Midterm' and Sanji refrained from groaning aloud. Fuck, that was right. Midterm week was coming up which meant even later hours and more studying than usual. Quickly jotting down the information in his computer, he snapped it shut and shoved it into his shoulder bag, breezing out of the lecture hall even as others began asking the professor questions about the exam.

Once out of the class he spotted Kaku leaning up against the opposing wall, leg propped back as his hands were shoved in the pockets of his dirty jeans. Upon seeing Sanji he kicked off from the wall and strode over, matching Sanji's stride as they made their way out of the school.

Kaku's classes were on the opposite side of campus where he was taking various trades courses as he tried to figure out what he wanted to precisely pursue in life. Keeping up a perfect GPA while also sneaking in on psychology classes for kicks which made the man a bit of a bastard to talk to when he started analyzing you and shit.

"Dude, you look like shit." Kaku commented they made their way down the large stair case to the entrance of the University, throngs of people shoving by them in their hurry to either catch a bus, or get to their next class. From their position Sanji could see outside and noted that it was currently pouring rain; an excellent proverbial cherry-on-top of his day.

"I feel like shit." Sanji muttered with a yawn, running a hand over his face to try and chase away the fatigue starting to affect his eyes, "I think I have insomnia or something."

"Well, that blows." Kaku chuckled but Sanji could hear the genuine concern underneath.

"You've no idea." He groaned as he began doing up the buttons on his jacket before they would exit into the downpour, "Plus, exams are next week so that means even less sleep."

"Well, Professor Enel said that stress can cau-"

"Not now." Sanji cut him off quickly with a decisive hand held up to show that he really didn't want to hear anything that the Psychology professor had mentioned and he certainly didn't need Kaku to assess him like some headcase, "Not in the mood."

"Alright. Alright." Kaku just laughed again but held up his hands in surrender as they arrived at the entrance and held the door open for Sanji to pass through.

Sanji inclined his head politely as they both exited into the torrents of rain that accompanied the weird weather that effected Grand Line due to being just off the coast. Keeping to the sheltered areas they made their way to Kaku's car as Sanji asked for gossips sake, "How's things with Kailfa?"

"Good." Kaku confirmed but his underlying tone showed resigned annoyance, "She still won't let me past second base though." Pulling his car keys from his pocket he unlocked the car from a distance, tail lights blinking to point them in the right direction in the parking lot, "Stuff about woman's rights and sexual harassment."

"You're her _boyfriend_." Sanji stressed in disbelief, as rain splattered against his face and had the welcomed affect of waking him up. Reaching the car he quickly pulled the passenger side door open before jumping in after saying, "Surely, she _wants_ to be with you. Otherwise she'd dump you."

"Even the term boyfriend to her is annoying." Kaku explained with a frown as he got in and slammed the door shut, immediately starting the vehicle as he pulled his seat belt on, "Says it's archaic and prude to label the situations in our relationship by gender specific euphemisms. Says we are partners."

"Wow." Sanji muttered under his breath while absently buckling himself in, "You almost have it worse then me."

Kaku chuckled as he threw the Toyota into reverse and careened out of his parking spot with a spray of water, "Mother still setting you up with chicks?"

"Does the Pope wear white?" Sanji sniped back with a scowl, "She just won't let it drop. Get this; she calls me at like two in the morning after the dinner asking if I liked the last girl. I mean it's getting to the point that I'm more concerned for her sanity than my own. Luckily, I've been able to skip out on the last few dinners because of school."

Kaku just responded with another chuckle as he pulled out of the parking lot and into main traffic, the little flashing turning arrow making the most obnoxious beeping noise possible, "Well, maybe you just need to get a girlfriend and let your mother take the hint."

Sanji sighed and pressed a tired hand against his eyes, suddenly feeling more than just tired but completely and utterly drained. Not wanting to deal with anything, just curl up in his bed and not have to do a damned thing for anyone anymore, "She'd start planning the wedding and scare whatever girl I brought over away."

"Ah well," Kaku mused casually as he focused intently on the afternoon traffic that they were slowly migrating through, "Things will work out. You're still their baby after all."

The slight infliction of a mocking baby tone in Kaku's voice made Sanji snarl angrily toward the stupid apprentice carpenter, "Shut the fuck up."

Kaku ignored the insult completely, laughing jovially at Sanji's misfortune. It was a common source of hilarity for their friend group; one of the those old things among friends that was brought up and nearly everyone pissed themselves laughing about it.

"So you gonna come hang with everyone tonight?" Kaku asked once he had slightly recovered from his fit and before Sanji could even open his mouth to protest he added, "C'mon it's Friday. You have all weekend to sleep and study."

Sanji made a small face as he had an internal struggle before his youth won out and without even saying a thing Kaku grinned knowing that he had won.

~X~

Stumbling out of the mass of dancing bodies on the dance floor to the more freer area of the club by the bar, Sanji made his way over to the bathroom as he desperately tried to remain standing. Fatigue mixed with ample shots had badly altered his current mental state and he could hardly walk in a straight line to save his life. Upon finding the men's bathroom he immediately collapsed against the sink, turned it on and splashed handfuls of water into his face.

The cold water was a happy relief, but didn't completely cure him of his drunkenness and Sanji leaned over the sink for a moment to try and calm himself. A few deep breaths and mental mantras of how he should 'keep a level head' and that 'he was completely in charge of his actions' and he felt remarkably better. Pushing himself up he stared at himself in the mirror to ascertain that he was indeed presentable.

"Sanji." A voice spoke suddenly and Sanji straightened, glancing around the bathroom to see who had followed him in but confusedly found himself to be alone. Through his drunken haze he just shrugged it off and clumsily pulled some paper towel from the dispenser and began drying his hands.

"Sanji! -ere! I'm- Sanji!" The voice pleaded desperately, "I'm her-"

Sanji spun around the room in confusion, immediately regretting the action as it caused himself to become immensely dizzy and almost topple over. Recovering and using the wall to keep himself up right he asked dumbly, "Where are you?"

Sanji pressed a hand to his head as the sudden migraine threatened to split his skull open in its intensity. Leaning heavily against the sink he pressed both hands to his head as the pain continued to mount and the voice resounded in his head louder until it became akin to someone shouting it directly into his ear. Eardrums ringing and head pounding he threw his head back and groaned in pain.

"Sanji! I—re! Her-! Sanji! Hel-! San-! -elp! Sanji! Sanji! SANJI! LISTEN!"

"Sanji!"

Sanji opened his eyes abruptly as two hands gripped his own wrists hard and he was drawn back into the reality of the club. Voices silenced immediately to be replaced by the steady beat of pounding music and Jyabura staring into Sanji's face intently.

"Dude," Jyabura asked carefully, his own words slurred slightly by the alcohol, "You okay? Having a bad trip?"

Sanji shook his head and noted that the room was still fairly fuzzy, and his coordination was definitely still off. Placing a now free hand to his head he shook himself slightly before mumbling, "Yeah. Really bad."

Jyabura put his arm around Sanji and began to guide him outside while slurring, "Well, let's get you with Paulie. He's driving so he can keep an eye on you."

Neither human noticed the frustration and anger radiating from the sunglasses currently shoved into Sanji's back pocket.

~X~

Prince gazed at the sleeping Sanji from his glasses' placed on the beside table as he tried to stamp down his irritation at the stupid blond. The alcohol had lessened the man's inhibitions enough to allow Prince to finally – barely – break through the barrier between them to make himself heard and the blond had fought for all he was worth to shove him out. Prince may have been strong but Sanji had easily beaten him out in the battle of wills over his body.

He was annoyed that he had failed but he assumed that it was progress. If a battle of wills would not work then he would merely challenge the man to a battle of patience and he had a millennium of practise on the subject to hang over the blond's head.

Sanji was sleeping peacefully now. His friends having dropped him off soon after they had heard that the blond had been 'tripping bad' – whatever the hell that meant – the blond hadn't tripped, he'd had a migraine. Regardless, it seemed that the man was now in a deep enough sleep that Prince could possess him without any problems.

Prince sent out what little magic he could conjure while trapped within the shades – it was what had allowed him to adapt the glasses over the years so that he wouldn't end up in some museum as an artifact – branching out as much as he could, the blue aura twisted itself into the very fibres of Sanji's arm, and with a little coaxing became moveable – much like one of those arms in the toy grabbing game Prince had once witnessed.

Under Prince's control Sanji's hand absently reached out and grabbed the sunglasses, picking them up weakly and dragging them over to Sanji's body. The closer he got to Sanji the stronger his hold became on the man, and with last bit of urging the hand lifted the glasses up and placed them neatly on the bridge of sleeping Sanji's nose.

In an instant he was within Sanji's body, in a single blink he went from looking down at the sleep features to looking up and out of the once closed eyes. Careful not to move too suddenly he sat up and with wave of magic the headache and nausea caused by the alcohol was dismissed. Untangling himself from the bedding, Prince stood and made his way over to Sanji's window. The city was already alive with life and Prince wasted little time with clambering out of the window and making his way up onto the roof of the complex.

Sitting calmly with his legs dangling over the edge of the building he looked out once more on the breathtaking view of the glittering city. Even after a couple weeks of this routine the view of this ethereal world still dazzled him. Compared to the world of stone he had come from it seemed like a world of the most fabulous gems mixed with magic to create impossible beauty.

A warm wind whipped by and pleasantly brushed across his face, noting that spring was indeed here and summer was on its way. The warmth brought up the memories of the last summer he had been alive within his own body; spending humid nights out in the forest with Asura as time seemed like an endless luxury.

_Wherever your soul ends up; I'll find it._

"Asura..." Prince mumbled quietly, the sound hardly leaving his throat as it was more just a movement of lips as he looked longingly out over the city and feeling utterly helpless. The longer he stared out at the vastness of the city the more he realized the enormity of the Earth and just how insignificant he was while stuck in this mortal body.

Since the time of Kings his world had been fairly small; consisting of barely all the land that had hence been discovered. Life bound to the Kingdom, he had never felt the urge to find out how voluminous the Earth really was. His dabbling in sorcery had given a deeper insight into the world than others, but never enough to understand just how enormous the planet really was.

Reaching out beside him he gently began tracing a blue symbol into the concrete, his magic causing the rune to glow a celestial azure before it began to fade entirely. When the last traces of the visible mark were gone Prince laid his hand down on top of it and tried to ignore how his hand shook gently. It seemed like a stupid idea when compared to the capacious distance between him and Asura, but the mark would leave enough of a trace that the demon would be able to find him.

Glancing back up at the shimmering city he let out a quiet breath as he tilted his head even farther back to stare up at the radiance of the stars that the city below desperately tried to mimic. They weren't made of scintillating metals or glistening glass but they had a natural beauty all their own and as his eyes traced them fondly his eyes widened in realization.

They were the same.

Even after a thousand years they were exactly the same stars he had gazed up at while a young warlock, the same stars he had used to guide himself home whenever he had gotten lost and the exact same moon that he had spent countless nights underneath while searching for herbs.

The same sky that Asura could see.

Compared to the time he had spent alone. Compared to how endless the universe was. The distance between them suddenly seemed a lot more bearable; if anything it was something that was easily conquerable. Pushing himself to his feet resolutely he began grinning broadly as he extended his hand and swept it across the sky in front of himself. Letting magic seep through his hand it fell in a wave of sparkling cyan particles before eventually evaporating.

Prince watched the falling magic fondly for only a moment with a reminiscent smile before launching himself from the edge of the building and out into the night.

~X~

Sanji puffed intently on a Marlboro as he scanned the page of his text book, intent on finishing the chapter before he took another break. Waking up after having being dragged out to Water Seven and drinking until he had blacked out had not exactly been a good time, but waking up with absolutely no hangover had been one of the first good things to have happened in the past couple weeks. Content and currently reviewing globalization and national trade issues – along with other long forgotten subjects from the beginning of the semester – he was vaguely scanning through the various graphs, diagrams and Key Points boxes that saved his GPA and his valuable time.

Grinding out the near-done cigarette in the ashtray balanced precariously on the arm of his La-Z-Boy Trevor Reclina-Rocker he leaned back heavily into the velvet lining with a distressed sigh as he stared up at the ceiling. His movement caused the chair to rock gently and the dull baby blue paint of his ceiling tilted back and forth in his vision as he yawned.

The days were getting rougher; what little sleep he did get hardly made up for the exhaustion that plagued him. Things were significantly less stressful since Zeff had given him an indefinite leave of absence from the Baratie due to exam week – the man acted gruff and uncaring but he was actually just a large pushover. But even without having to worry about work he still couldn't explain how he was always so exhausted.

However, he was staring to become desperate as this simple bout of insomnia was getting a little out of hand. There were times where he would wake and his body would hurt unreasonably; and the only thing he could guess was that he must tense in his sleep. Then there was the times that he would wake up on the couch, or in bed fully dressed and all he could guess was that he was possibly sleep walking now. For a moment he contemplated putting up a camera but remembered a few Paranormal Activity movies he had seen and what resulted of those people and flatly refused the idea.

Sanji snorted wryly as all of that just amounted to a bunch of petty problems that made him sound like a hypochondriacal idiot.

Reaching out blindly, he dug his fingers into the package of Marlboro's beside him on the small corner table and sighed heavily as he realized he was out of cigarettes. Glancing back down at the book in his lap he noted that there was only about two chapters left to be reviewed and reasoned that a walk would probably do himself some good.

Pulling on a light hoodie to protect against the still light chill of post-winter hung above the city, he made his way out of his apartment and over to the elevator. Passing through the lobby he waved amiably to Mr. Drake – the ex-cop that lived a few rooms down from Sanji – as the man was getting his mail for the various boxes that littered the southern wall of the apartment lobby. The former cop gave small grunt in acknowledgement and Sanji continued on out of the double glass doors.

The afternoon light burnt his sensitive eyes and he quickly searched his pockets, relieved to feel the pair of orange specs he had bought a few days ago. Pulling them out he put them on and everything went black.

~X~

"Geez, you stubborn kid." Prince stared down at Sanji's body and huffed, "Figure it out already."

The spirit set off down the street with long strides wishing he had a smoke to chew on in his frustration. Sanji was just so damned stubborn and had one of the strongest wills Prince had even seen in his life. Try as he might Sanji's mental wall remained impermeable and he had been unable to communicate with the boy. He had done everything he could to try and make the kid realize that he existed, tried so hard to communicate with him.

One time he had been tempted to leave a message on the mirror, but had paused when he realized the man would probably flip and call an exorcist or something. And while someone with in depth spiritual knowledge would be nice to meet; it still probably wouldn't solve his little problem. Even worse the demonologist might exorcise him and the last thing he needed now was to be dead.

He entered the convenience store still lost in thought and purchased a pack of Marlboro's from the surly looking man behind the counter whose yellowing teeth and greasy appearance made Prince judge the quality and expiry dates of the food within the place. As he exited the store he immediately pulled out a stick and lit up, inhaling the quality smoke that not only relaxed him mentally but calmed Sanji physically. The cigarette was soon finished and the butt thrown in a tray outside the doors as Prince started to make his way back to Sanji's home.

On the way he had one more stick, pausing by a fence that belonged to some innocent neighbour. Raising a finger alight in blue fire, he placed it to the simple wood and began to trace a circle, added a few markings and finished with a few archaic words written around the edges. When he removed his finger the marking he had just burnt into the wood faded until it was no longer visible and Prince gave a small smile before continuing on down the street.

Making his way back up the steps of the apartment complex, Prince flicked the remains of his second cigarette into a small tray filled with other discarded butts and gently removed removed the shades from his face.

~X~

Sanji blinked in confusion at the shades he was holding that he swore he had just put on and cast a glance around the street in confusion. His neighbour – Ms. Nico – was no longer out in the garden tending to her flowers, though he was certain he had just seen her mid way through watering the chrysanthemums. And she always tended to the orange beauties before the lilies, so how was she already done? Another glance down the road confirmed that Mr. Rayleigh's car – which had been there a moment before – was now gone.

Frowning in confusion Sanji sent the shades a suspicious look, before pocketing them gently. His hand grazed the new box of cigarettes and Sanji fumbled a moment before pulling them out. He stood on the street corner, holding the box and looking at it in utter bafflement as he tried to ascertain whether or not he had forgotten he had had a pack already in his pocket.

Tentatively he place the smokes back into his pocket as he glanced around the street in caution, turning back to enter the apartment lobby he found Mr. Drake gone and was even more flummoxed. Hands shaking slightly he placed them in his jacket pockets as he made his way quietly back up the stairs in quiet confusion.

~X~

Prince blinked several times as he ascertained his control over the blond's body before sitting up with a sigh. Sanji was seriously becoming a troublesome problem; how hard was it for the dumb blond to link everything together? It wasn't like Prince was purposefully being evasive, if anything constantly being shoved into the blond's body was becoming rather annoying.

Had the blond actually tricked himself into believing that he had just forgotten about the pack of cigarettes in his pocket? Prince was really starting to run out of ideas. The mirror idea was beginning to become more and more tempting; but maybe a nice long letter could work too.

Throwing the blanket's aside, Prince stood in annoyance and snatched up the jacket Sanji had just removed before donning it once more and making his way over to the small bedroom window. Sliding it open, he held it up before casting a glance back at the bed and the sleep that Sanji's body should have been receiving at the moment.

"Sorry Sanji." Prince mumbled guiltily before jumping out the window and running off into the night.

Unlike Asura he didn't have demon tracking skills, but if Asura had found a host like Prince had then the demon would find him eventually. The more he explored the city, the more he left markers and spread his scent, the better luck he'd have. Although the odds that Asura was in this city were about a million to one; if had ended up all the way across the ocean in America, where had the demon wound up? But as much as he would like to escape this town and look he knew he couldn't; not with Sanji.

But he had faith in Asura. He'd just have to be patient – he'd waited this long after all – what were a few more years? He just didn't like being so passive; it shouldn't have to be all Asura's work. But his powers were very limited as long as Sanji was stifling him – he had some limited abilities – but most of his magic was being smothered by Sanji's presence. It probably had to do with the link between them not being complete.

Prince spotted a group of delinquents who were searching through a pink hand bag that was obviously not theirs and decided to have a little fun. Jumping down from his perch on the building he made his way over to the teen's fully intending to take out some of his frustration on them.

"Oi! Fucktards, why don't you try stealing from someone who can actually fight back?" Prince drawled as he made his way up the sidewalk, one hand in his pocket the other casually flicking the end of his cigarette to remove the built up ash. Replacing it back in his mouth he stopped a few meters away from the kids and jutted his hip cockily.

One of the kids snorted mockingly before rolling his eyes and stepping forward, "Back off, dude. Mind your own fucking business."

A smooth step forward and his knee was impaled directly into the young man's gut, without even having a chance to react the boy merely collapsed forward on the knee while choking pathetically as a mixture of blood and saliva was coughed up from his slack mouth. Prince removed his knee and stepped back letting the boy fall to the ground to pathetically gasp for air on the ground.

Prince resumed his original stance with a smirk as he noted a bit more blood was coughed up by the young man on the ground. Thanks to a small amount of magic imbued with his attack the kid would probably have to go to the hospital for internal injuries. Grinning cheekily back at the group who know watch their friend wearily he barked, "So who's next? I'm in a bad mood."

"Yeah, so am I." A surly looking teen pulled a gun and Prince instantly became weary, he wasn't sure how much influence his powers would have over the blond's body. Keeping a bullet from entering Sanji might require more magic than he was capable of conjuring at the moment. Taking a cautious step back the teen sneered happily. "Not so confident now, are you?"

Prince carefully put his hands into his pockets, noting only a pack of smokes and lighter. Fingering the small tube he wonder exactly how hard he could throw it. The teen was now advancing on Prince with a cocky expression while muttering, "Hand over your wallet too, dumbass."

With near inhuman speed Prince withdrew the lighter and snapped his wrist harshly as the lighter whipped through the air and pegged the kid right in the eye. A pained scream as the teen dropped the gun and fell to his knees as he grasped his face, blood already leaking from between his fingers.

While the rest of the delinquents stood frozen in disbelief, Prince kicked the gun to the side. Metal clattering across concrete before falling over the edge of the sidewalk and down a sewer drain. He snatched up the lighter and immediately took off down the street before the men snapped out of their stasis.

A quiet moment when all that could be heard was the smack of Prince's – Sanji's – converse shoes hitting the concrete and a distant honking of a car horn. Then a roar of rage from the men and they were after Prince with malicious intent, Prince cackled tauntingly as he picked up his speed, reaching the end of the street and turning onto a boulevard.

Before the men could even get onto the same street, Prince dove into an alley way and darted into the shadows, pressing his body flush against the wall as he watched the group of men run past. He remained there for a few moments making absolutely sure that the men wouldn't double back and check for him in his hiding spot.

After several minutes he let out a breath and pushed himself away from the bricks and glanced at the fire escape that decorated the side of the building. Travelling by rooftop seemed like the safest way to go now, to avoid getting caught or spotted. Chuckling, he felt remarkably better after beating the crap out of the two men and pulled out a celebratory smoke as he tapped the toe of his show against the ground to adjust his foot in the shoe and prepare himself for the jump.

"Pry...?"

The voice was arousingly masculine with a nice bite – perhaps an accent – the words spoken with a deep timbre that gave away disbelief and possibly fear.

Prince spun around and glanced at the man who had addressed him with a name he hadn't heard for a millennium. Tall, and broad his body was packed with muscle that was hardly hidden under a slim black hoodie, and a pair of ratty jeans hung from his hips hiding what had to be just as powerful legs.

Near black eyes watched him with a critical look that he was extremely intimate with from underneath the shadow of a familiar black bandana that was pulled low over the handsome face. As those black eyes studied him Prince noted the small hint of insecurity and restrained caution.

"Ash." Prince muttered breathlessly, hardly able to believe that he was standing in the same space as the man, unlit cigarette falling to ground from between numb fingers.

In a blink, Asura was on him; arms squeezing his body in a rib crushing hug, face buried in Prince's neck as he muttered nonsense, and hands grasping desperately at his jacket as though afraid Prince might disappear. Just as relieved Prince held back; one arm holding Asura's head closer to him as the other tangled in the hoodie with a white knuckled grip, his face buried in the bandana that still had that musk of steel. They stood there entwined in each other, both scared to let go in risk of losing what they had been searching centuries to find.

Asura finally pulled his head back far enough to press his forehead against Prince's as his face contorted with withheld tears of relief and grief, managing through choked breaths, "I missed you _so_ much."

Prince blinked furiously as he himself tried not to cry but opted for dropping his head to Asura's shoulder, mumbling thickly, "I thought I'd never see you again."

"Shut up." Ash said harshly as his grip tightened painfully, "I promised I'd find you."

His eyes hurt, his nose hurt, the fucking back of his throat hurt from trying not to cry, and after so long of waiting until he could find this man again he wanted to shout from the rooftops in joy but all he could do was hold on desperately as he tried not to break down. He had never felt so weak and powerful as in the moment that he had the man he loved in his arms.

"I can't believe that it worked." Pry mumbled in disbelief, "I mean; that we're still alive."

"I never doubted your spell for a second." Ash murmured adoringly as he pressed a gentle, loving kiss to Pry's neck before nuzzling his nose at the hair behind Prince's ear like he used to do all those centuries ago. His muscular arms tightened again as though to test that Prince was indeed really there and Pry was reminded of the demon's stupid strength, "Missed you. Love you."

"Love you too." Prince laughed happily, slightly hysterical with the fact that he was able to say those words aloud again, and squeezed back, not wanting to ever let go of the man again. But the cold of the night, and the eventual reality of their location kicked in and Ash reluctantly pulled his head way enough to get a good look at Prince in Sanji's body.

Black eyes that always became soft when assessing him, watched Prince carefully – almost in fear that perhaps what he was seeing was an illusion – as the demon quickly surveyed the warlock. Prince just remained in the embrace breathlessly, still unsure exactly what to say or to do as he looked up at Asura.

"So who's your host?" Ash asked quietly as he inspected Sanji's face, lines in his brow furrowing in slight confusion, "He looks haggard."

"He doesn't know I exist." Pry admitted guilty, "It's been wearing on him mentally."

"I'll say." Asura cupped Pry's cheeks and turn the face from side to side as he examined the body. Prince let his eyes fall shut as he relished the feeling of the demon's warm hands holding him so tenderly. Able to feel the pulsing of life through his veins which only attested more to the fact that this was all real, "He looks remarkably like you."

Prince couldn't believe how easy it was to fall into conversation with Ash again. He hadn't thought anything else, but after waiting a thousand years he would silently admit that he had been nervous. Nervous that maybe Ash had changed in that time. A foolish notion that would be dismissed in annoyance if he ever voiced it to the demon.

"What do I do?" Prince asked quietly as he opened his eyes to stare once more at the man. Mesmerized by the simple way his lips tightened with each small exhale, how his muscular chest expanded with each breath, and the flush that covered the demon's cheeks as blood flowed healthily beneath the surface. Placing a slightly shaking hand on the demon's chest he could feel the steady beat of a strong heart pulsing just beneath his palm, and he had to bite his lip to keep from making a sound of relief.

A warm, reassuring hand was placed over his and squeezed tightly before being drawn up to the demon's lips where a chaste, yet worshipping kiss was placed on the knuckles as Asura continued to watch Prince intently. Prince reached up with his free hand to gently run his thumb over the man's jaw, cupping the demon's face tenderly. Asura freed his hand and placed it on the back of Prince's neck, drawing him forward to once more hold him protectively.

"Once we get him to accept that you're there the mental wall that's blocking you two will come down." Asura explained quietly as his hands began to gently prod at the blond's lower back and loosen the tensed muscle, "After that you two can work things out."

"But that's the problem." Pry said while leaning back into the gentle yet strong hands that worked some of the stress from his host's body, "He doesn't want to admit something's wrong."

"My host will help."

One of Asura's hands moved up to between his shoulder blades and continued working the muscles and Pry melted into the touch, leaning completely into Asura. Humming contentedly as he let the demon's hands run over his body reassuringly and allowed his aura to seep into his body he asked absently, "So he knows you exist?"

"Yea," Ash murmured gently as his hands slowly came to a stop and linked casually on the warlock's lower back, "He was oblivious for some time; but eventually came around."

"And he'll help?" Prince asked, trying desperately not to pout when the demon's hands had retracted and instead settling for the warm hold he remained within.

"Definitely." Asura flashed cheeky teeth, "He's actually a really tolerable kid."

"Mm." Prince chuckled lightly and rested his forehead up against Asura's, "Coming from you that means a lot."

Asura only growled contentedly in response as he continued to watch Prince with adoring eyes, black glowing happily as he seemed unable to tear them away from Prince's blue. Prince was in much the same situation hardly able to believe that after all his waiting – years of sitting alone in that dark and wishing just to see these eyes again – hundreds of years of yearning, the object of all his desires was in his arms again and all he could do was stand dumbfounded and stare in shock.

Raising a cautious hand he gently grazed his fingers against the demon's cheek in reverent affection, still scared that perhaps this was all a dream and that he would wake alone once more trapped in the prison that he had created for himself. As his fingers grazed over the demon's left eye he absently thought of the scar that Asura's old body had exhibited and all the problems that had ensued from that single injury.

Closing his mind against the painful memories he moved the hand away to once more wrap around the man's shoulders – holding probably a little bit too securely – before breaking the silence, "How'd you find me?"

"I found one of your signatures." Asura mumbled quietly, "I could hardly believe it at first but then I sensed your presence and followed it to here. Your host really smothered your scent. I had some trouble tracking you down, but..." Asura grinned happily, "I found you."

"I knew you would."

"Of course." Asura boasted with a cocky sneer, "I promised you, didn't I?"

Prince noted the expression on the host's face and blinked at how oddly fitting it looked; like the man too made that expression a lot and not because Asura made him. Prince couldn't keep the slight smirk from working its way onto his face and he commented quietly, "He looks like you."

"Oh yeah?" Asura prodded with a grin, easily keeping up with Prince's random train of thought. But at the moment Prince couldn't even be embarrassed for his lack of coherence as he simply wanted to say everything to the man and nothing all at the same time.

"Teeth are less pointy though." Pry responded flaltly.

Asura threw his head back and laughed – a deep bark that rumbled in his chest – as Prince became momentarily mesmerized by the muscular stretch of throat that he was so used to biting teasingly. Asura let his head drop back and his shoulders still shook slightly before asking, "That all?"

"Yup." Prince said wryly, "You still can't hold me without crushing me."

"Yeah." Ash mumbled with a grin before purposefully tightening his grip, "Sorry."

"No, you're not." Pry murmured as he leaned in and nuzzled under Ash's jaw, hands linking behind the man's waist to keep him in place. The intoxicating aura of the demon was practically tangible in the air – smelling of steel and tasting of fire and ashes – it did terrible things to Prince. Exhilarating after all these years apart he was overwhelmed at being in such close proximity and couldn't stop himself from groaning lightly.

"Really?" Ash chuckled in disbelief, his face buried in Prince's hair and the warlock could feel the crooked grin tugging at the demon's lips, "A thousand years and you're still a gigantic perv?"

"Shut your face." Pry jokingly grabbed Ash's ass and squeezed, admiring the firmness before biting back playfully, "You think it was your charming personality I fell in love with?"

"Fuck." Ash gritted as Pry pulled his body into the blond's and grinded teasingly. Calloused hands gripping Pry's boney hips in response as he desperately dragged him forward to align their bodies together and growling seductively into the warlock's ear, "You never change."

Prince pulled back so he could smash their lips together, hands coming up from the demon's seductive body to wrap his arms around the man's shoulder desperately. Almost scared to let go, his arms tightened as he tilted his head to the side and slid his tongue into the demon's mouth. A hot tongue battled against his viciously as Asura grasped at him just as fiercely, movements driven less out of sexual motivation but from fearful desire of loosing the other again.

Asura's hands threaded into the blond hair, fingers carding through familiar blond locks as Prince curled into the attention affectionately. Missing those hands that hadn't been on him in almost a thousand years. His other hand slipped up to cup the man's face as the kiss turned somewhat desperate, need overriding rationality.

The demon adjusted his hand to continue carding through blond hair that he had worshipped and gasped in realization as his hand hit the edge of the glasses causing them to slip in almost slow motion, sliding from the blond's nose to land with a clatter on the ground in the choked silence.

~X~

The glasses were jarred from his nose and Sanji became suddenly _very_ aware of a warm body pressed against his, a pair of hot lips against his and a talented tongue within his mouth. The hard body flexed under his grip, muscles tightening, hips jerking and hands grasping. The glasses hit the ground with a small clatter and Sanji pulled away from the body – hand freeing the bandana in the process – as he let out a terrified yell at the man he had been kissing.

A black bandana fluttered to the ground and a green haired man stood before him looking just as lost and confused, staring at Sanji in complete disorientation.

"Who the fuck are you?" The green-haired boy asked, glancing around before noting the bandana on the floor and scooping it up and tying it around his left arm securely. If Sanji had been in any other state of mind he could've sworn he saw the man glare at the fabric scoldingly.

"Who – who am..." Sanji's voice cut out as he was filled with a mixture of anger, confusion and dare he admit – fear – while his hands shook with the need to grasp a smoke from his pocket, "Who are you, you shitty perv?!"

"I'm – look," The man started nervously, "I'm Zoro. I'm really sorry about this but I'm just as confused as you are. I was blacked out till a second ago."

"What?!" Sanji screeched somewhat hysterically as he pulled out a fresh smoke – noting with a frown that a couple were missing – and pointed it threateningly at green-hair, "I know what you're doing."

The man's eyes shifted to his bandana uncomfortably, "What?"

"You're playing some fucking mind games or some shit," Sanji accused, lighting the cigarette and brandishing it once more, "Making me think that you're innocent or something. When really whatever you drugged me with just wore off."

"Look!" Green hair said adamantly and seemed to be getting a little annoyed, "I'm just as confused as you are. Last thing I remember was being at home watching Stan being the messiah of the church of Scientology, next thing I know I wake up with you plastered against me."

"You – you –" Sanji stuttered through barely restrained anger and confusion, "Just stay the fuck away from me!"

Grateful for being near the open end of the alleyway, Sanji spun on his heel and broke out in a desperate sprint, not bothering to stop when the man called for him to wait. No footsteps could be heard chasing after him but he continued to run regardless, partially from fear and partially from confusion. Not bothering to stop until he was nearly five blocks away from the terrifying scene.

~X~

Zoro stood in the alley alone and confused watching as the blond man rounded the corner and out of sight. Letting out an annoyed sigh he bent and picked up the shades that the man had forgotten and pocketed them before grabbing the bandana off his arm and scowling down at it.

"What the fuck dude?" Zoro muttered angrily, knowing the spirit would be forced to listen but would be unable to reply, "We had fucking rules, then you go molesting blond's in alley ways. I thought you were better than that."

Zoro could feel the restrained emotions emanating from the bandana and reluctantly put it on. Placing it on his head and tying the knot in the back with quick, practised motions before closing his eyes and allowing himself to be drawn into his mind.

The sounds of cicadas met his ears and he opened his eyes to find himself in the familiar outdoor area of a dojo that his mind helpfully supplied for him whenever Asura happened to be using his body. Glancing around he noted the spirit in question sat perched on one of the practice dummies, one foot propped on the top and an elbow resting on his knee. A dark expression emanated from the man as he glowered in Zoro's direction, his demonic properties easily showing through.

The first time Zoro had lay eyes on the demonic spirit he had honestly been afraid. Afraid, confused and half drunk. But as he had grown closer with the spirit he knew there was nothing harmful about him. True, he had the strength to cause a ten storey building to collapse with his hand – something he had learned the hard way – but Asura also needed Zoro's body to exist in the mortal world. The demon would never risk hurting his body or mind.

Asura himself was much alike Zoro in appearance that it was sort of looking at an older version of himself, or perhaps an older brother. His body type was identical, very muscular with a skin tone only a shade darker than Zoro's; whereas he was tan, Asura was more of a mocha. Scars were happily prominent on both their bodies, though Zoro's were mostly due to childhood accidents, sports injuries, and a nice one across his chest from when Asura had been a bit careless. Asura's were caused by battles, wars, and actual swords. There was also a prominent scar that ran up from his jaw, across his face and into his hairline, taking an eye with it. The other eye was untouched and was as black as coal, always staring and calculating every move that was around him.

Jawline, cheekbones, face structure were the same as well. Zoro's eyes were a softer brown in comparison however, Asura's merely looked like darkness itself was staring you in the face. The same difference stood out in their hair; Zoro's a neon green that he kept dyed regularly, and Asura's a forest emerald.

The glare he was sending Zoro's way would've scared lesser men, and in mortal form that stare could probably literally turn a man to stone, but Zoro was accustomed to it and didn't falter. His own rage was keeping him from being intimidated by the spirit and his stupid mind tricks.

"Scowl all you want. You're still the rapist here."

"Don't." Asura rasped, "You have no idea what's going on."

"Enlighten me." Zoro scoffed as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, "Cause I don't need the cops called on my ass for trying to rape some blonde."

"It wasn't rape." Asura muttered in annoyance, before glancing to the side with a childish pout, "I didn't mean to knock his glasses off."

"His glasses?" Zoro cocked his head as he vaguely remembered the pair he had picked up that the blond had dropped, "What about them?"

"What about them?" Asura snorted, "What do you think? There's a spirit in there."

"Another?" Zoro perked up at that, "So you found the other one."

"He's not just an o_ther one_." Asura defended sharply, "I've been searching for him for years, he's-"

Asura abruptly stopped and let his head drop, shielding his face from Zoro's critical stare. It was odd seeing the demon get so emotionally worked up. Sure he was always viscous, condescending and easily riled when it came to hurting people, but that was in his nature. Being mentally vulnerable was something completely new.

Zoro remembered the memories clear as though they were his own. Flashes of the demon's former life before he had wound up bound to a simple bit of fabric. Everything. And at the focal point of all that; was Prince.

"Oh..." Zoro clued in, "He's Prince."

"Yeah," Asura leaned his head weakly on his knee, a look of longing, regret and want mixing on his face. Groaning quietly in a combination of embarrassment and pain as he turned his face away from Zoro, "Yeah."

"Well, I have the sunglasses if you want to talk to him." Zoro offered casually as he made his way over to one of the practise dummies, taking a offensive stance and miming a slow neck strike before altering into a high kick. Keeping the motions fluid and calm so as to calm him mentally.

"I can't." Asura snarled, "He's trapped in there alone, like I am in here."

Zoro paused in his next kata[1] and sighed regretfully knowing what he had to do, "I have to go find that blond, don't I?"

"You know you do." Asura gritted and hopped down from the dummy he had been perched upon, marching over to Zoro still seething, "Along with Luffy; we need him."

"We as in the team?" Zoro asked skeptically, not the least bit deterred by the minion of hell currently breathing angrily into his face, "Or we as in you?"

Asura's hand shot out and knocked the straw dummy aside, splintering the post that it had been situated on and sending it careening into the fence, "Both."

"Fine." Zoro reluctantly gave in as he looked at the now destroyed fence before back at the immature demon, "But you're gonna help me find him."

~X~

Asura found himself once more within control of Zoro's body and he immediately reached into the pocket of his black hoodie to assess that the object containing his precious Prince was indeed unharmed. Holding the glasses gently he glanced down and could feel the warlock's presence just out of sight or reach.

"Pry." He mumbled quietly, "I know you can hear me. I'm going to find that boy; so just wait for a bit."

The glasses radiated a small warmth and the demon smiled contentedly down before carefully placing them in his jean pocket so they would fall out. Asura then glanced around the empty alley way, gauging his location as he slowly branched his aura out.

The smell from the blond still lingered on Zoro's body – a heady mixture of smoke and spices – and Asura followed. To his heightened supernatural senses it was almost too easy to follow the fresh scent across the city until he came to a fairly occupied district ridden with apartment complexes and one too many Starbucks. He eventually found himself skidding to a halt on top of a building, nose crinkling as he sniffed the air to affirm that is was indeed the blond's scent emanating from within.

Venturing to the edge where it was most prominent he found an unsteadily built fire escape and began climbing down through the zigzagging structure. He eventually found the window that was placed just under the flooring of the metal grate. Asura grumbled in annoyance and clambered under until he was able to hang from the metal grate and look in on the apartment.

Asura hung from the stair well quietly, keeping in the shadows as he watched the blond in the apartment. His heart ached with the realization that he looked so identical to his Prince and that their movements and actions were so similar it was no wonder the man had been chosen as Pry's host. Just minutes ago he had been holding that man and his world had felt complete and now it was just a stranger in there not even understanding what he possessed.

The demon quickly closed his eyes from the onslaught of unwanted emotion and retreated into the recesses of Zoro's mind. Finding the man sitting calmly in the courtyard of the illusionary dojo, eyes closed as he seemed to have been practising his meditation.

"Found him." Asura muttered as he took a place underneath a small cherry blossom tree, "By the way you're hanging from some stairs so don't let go."

~X~

Opening his eyes Zoro found himself indeed hanging from a fire escape stairway, legs dangling over the concrete alleyway floor at least several stories below. With a simple jerk of his arms he swung himself forward and landed on the brick siding jutting out from just below the window. A bit of conjured aura and he was able to place his feet sturdily enough between the cracks of the bricks as he gripped the window sill.

Looking in he found a fancy kitchen that obviously wasn't just for looks judging from the cookware, books and other culinary objects strewn about. A quick glance and Zoro found the earlier disgruntled blond, with a bottle of spiced rum in one hand and a tumbler in the other he poured himself a large glass, knocked it back before slamming bottle and glass down on the black marble counter top. Leaning heavily on his hands he let his head drop as he gave a shaky sigh, hand coming up to run a trembling hand through his hair.

Zoro silently pitied the guy – he'd been there, known what it felt like to feel like the world was falling apart at the seams – despite his overreaction in the alley he didn't begrudge the blond. He probably would've reacted similar if he hadn't known what was going on.

Knowing he was probably headed for a fight, or another escapade of yelling with this man Zoro stilled himself before tentatively knocking on the window.

The man inside visibly jumped, and when he glanced at the window and saw Zoro, he had a kitchen knife in one had and cellphone in the other so fast that Zoro was starting to regret coming through the window. The door probably would've gained a better response.

Zoro cautiously pulled the sunglasses out of his pocket and showed them to the blond. The host looked at them in disbelief, mouth hung open in the clear question of, 'Why the fuck are you returning a stupid pair of sunglasses?!' Zoro gave a nervous smile, ducking his head slightly in apology.

The man inched closer, hooked his toe under the latched and promptly kicked the window open. Zoro caught the single hung window before it could slide closed again and held it open as he grinned in sheepishly at the man who seemed to be contemplating throwing the knife or not.

"You followed me home?!" The man screeched, "Really?! What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"I just came to return your shades and apologize!" Zoro defended as quickly as possible, not needing a knife in his skull at this time of night.

"You found out where I live!" The blond yelled, "Do you even know how creepy that is?! I'll call the fucking cops, I swear!"

"Don't..." Zoro reached out lightly, "Just let me speak. Then I'll leave."

The host was clearly struggling with the decision, curled brow twitching in annoyance as his lips pursed tightly, but Zoro could tell in his eyes that he was curious. Analytically watching Zoro as he seemed to desperately decide whether or not to let Zoro in. Zoro knew the blond was interested; whatever he was dealing with, it was obvious that the blond was near the end of his rope and desperate for answers.

The host eventually seemed to give in and requested sharply, "Empty your pockets."

"Are you mugging me?" Zoro asked with a raised eyebrow, knowing that he shouldn't be mocking the skittish blond anymore than necessary but it was almost on instinct that he wanted to piss the man off. It seemed to be the wrong answer because the man's face darkened and he looked about ready to throw the damned knife.

"I said empty your fucking pockets!" He shouted aggressively, "Or get the fuck out. I don't need you pulling out a knife and stabbing me."

"You're the one holding a knife." Zoro pointed out as he obliged and emptied his pockets of his wallet, some loose change, his house and cars keys, a couple receipts, and some gum.

"Yeah, well you're the one who's stalking me." The blond countered as he gazed over the everyday items Zoro had laid out on the window sill. Seemingly satisfied he relaxed his stance and silently allowed Zoro to return the items to his pockets before setting the knife aside on the counter.

"You're probably going to think I'm crazy but stick with me." Zoro started nervously as he finally placed the last of the loose change in his pocket while the host leaned a hip against the counter and levelled Zoro with an unimpressed look that clearly stated exactly how crazy he thought Zoro was.

"I already think you're crazy." The host snorted condescendingly, "I guess listening to your ramblings won't be much harder."

Zoro placed the orange glasses on the white painted window sill before asking the host intently, "These glasses; when you wear them what happens?"

"I've never worn them." He responded as he watched Zoro suspiciously, "I either fall asleep or pass out."

"And you don't find that the least bit odd?" Zoro asked slowly as he edge a foot into the window, the blond twitched slightly but didn't tell him to stop. "Why were you in that alley? Why were you wearing them at the time?"

"I don't know." The blond said and his voice shook lightly, "You drugged me and put them on me? How the fuck should I know?!"

Zoro's eyes narrowed slightly, "And you believe that?"

"What should I believe?!" The man yelled.

"You've realized something is wrong." Zoro began as he brought his other leg up onto the sill and dropped into the kitchen, "You know that something isn't right and right now you're too scared to admit that there might be something out there that is supernatural. That shouldn't be possible but is. And you're scared to admit it because that means that you'll have to confront it."

"You're a fucking nutbar." The blond snatched up the knife once more and held it aloft warningly, "Don't get any closer."

"I know how you feel cause I was there." Zoro continued on as he ignored the knife, "There were hours missing from my memory, I'd pass out for no reason, my body would hurt unbelievably even though I hadn't done anything and there was that feeling like you were always being watched."

At this the man actually looked shocked and the knife lowered slightly, "H-How do you know this?"

"The same happened with him." Zoro untied the bandana from his arm and held it up along with the glasses in the other. "I would pass out and he would take over my mind, he was in control when we were in that alley. Just like this spirit was in control of you."

"Y-you think I'm going to buy this?" The man muttered in slight disbelief, "I've heard of people talking their way out of rape, but this is ridiculous."

"I didn't rape you. I wasn't even aware that I was in that alley until you knocked the bloody bandana off my head and I came to. I was just as confused."

"Spirits in objects." The host snorted derisively as he brought the knife back up, "You're insane!"

"Prove me wrong!" Zoro demanded harshly and thrust the glasses towards the host. "Put them on and stay conscious."

"I don't need to prove anything to you."

Zoro smirked condescendingly, "I knew it. You _are_ scared."

"AM NOT!"

Zoro didn't say anything, he just watched the blond steadily as he held out the shades and waited. The host stared back heatedly for a few moments before he cursed under his breath and set down the cellphone, grabbing the sunglasses. The host honestly looked a little scared for a moment before he snorted and placed them on his face.

"Hap-"

His sentence cut out and his eyes widened for a moment before blinking rapidly.

"Thank fuck." The man sighed heavily, running an annoyed hand through his hair before glancing up at Zoro. Blue eyes that were before widely fearful and distressfully enraged now watched him with a calculating intensity almost as discomforting as Asura's. A small flash of teeth appeared at the corner of the blond's mouth and Zoro had to admit that the sudden change in personality was a little unsettling, "Ah, so you're his host huh?"

"You're the spirit?" Zoro asked carefully as he looked at the man that now had the aura of a completely different person. With a suave attitude and an aura that was easily on par with Asura's, the spirit exuded sensations of massive power that was hidden behind the lanky figure. That same intoxicating yet overwhelming feeling that was felt whenever in the presence of Luffy or when he used Asura's powers.

"No duh, dipshit." The spirit drawled before cocking his head in interest, "So Asura said you'd help me with my host?"

"Yes. I'm Zoro." Zoro introduced stiffly, keeping his tone respectful while addressing the ancient spirit, he extended his hand and the spirit snatched it up in a firm shake before grinning, something mischievous obviously at work behind those innocent blue eyes.

"This is Sanji." The spirit gestured vaguely to the body that he was currently possessing before inclining his head, "I am Prince. What do I need to do?"

Prince asked the question innocently enough, but with those crystal blue eyes studying him so intently, the spirit was no doubt making subtle comparisons between Zoro and Asura. Zoro set his jaw and firmly refused to play into any mind games that the warlock was no doubt tempted to play and instead kept to the matter at hand.

"Most of it is just that I need to convince him." Zoro explained quickly, "I just need you to keep an open mind for when he finally breaks his mental wall."

"I've had an open mind for the past month." Prince offered, a bit of annoyance furrowing his brow, "I don't see how you will be able to convince him."

"I got him to put on the glasses, didn't I?" Zoro bit back and relished in the flash of a nettled expression on the spirit's face before turning toward where he assumed the living area would be, "Follow me."

Prince followed quietly, and didn't seemed nearly as annoyed as he did curious. Blue eyes once more critically examining Zoro; he was however used to Asura doing this on a regular basis and ignored it completely. In the living room Zoro requested Prince stand in front of the couch in case Sanji might pass out when he returned to being in control of his body.

"Now take off the glasses." Zoro commanded.

"Once this is all sorted out," Prince began casually, already reaching up to remove the glasses, "You will let me see Asura, right?"

"You have my word." Zoro promised seriously, meeting the warlock's eyes unblinkingly and it seemed to suffice.

The glass were removed in a swift motion and Sanji was left teetering on his own with the glasses loosely in his fingers as he glanced around the room in confusion. Blue eyes quickly flickering over his surroundings as his brow creased in concern as he muttered quickly, "Wait. How the fuck did I-"

"The spirit."

"I don't... Just..." Sanji dropped the glasses and held his head, he stood there for several moments just shaking and silently muttering to himself. Zoro allowed him the few minutes to try and catalogue all the confusing emotions no doubt rushing through him.

"It's scarey – I get that – but these spirits are part of something much bigger than we could possibly fathom." Zoro explained gently, "And you're a part of it."

The host glanced up and glared daggers at Zoro, his expression dark, "Get out of my house."

"Hey, I just-"

"GET OUT!" The man hollered and picked up a lamp off the reading table and reeling back intending to throw it. Zoro stood frozen for a moment by surprise at the sudden bipolar tendency of the blond mans emotions before leaping into action at the threat of being hit by the ceramic lighting device.

"Holy fuck! Calm down; I'm going!" Zoro defensively held his arms up as he backed toward the door, he reached blindly behind him with one hand before finding the door knob and opening the portal. He quickly pulled out an old receipt and snatched a pen off the mantel by the door, scribbling down the number quickly so he wouldn't get pegged by the lamp. "If you come to your senses then that's my number."

"Like I'd call you, stalker!"

Zoro ducked out of the door and heard the lamp shatter against the other side. He glanced down at the bandanna around his arm, "Your partner sure chose a temperamental host."

The bandana only radiated agreement.

TBC...

* * *

A/N:

[1] kata; choreographed patterns of movements(in martial arts it's usually attacks, or throws done in order)

So... This chapter really got away on me. Wasn't expecting it to be this long but oh well :)


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I really don't mean for the chapters to be this long... They just sort of happen...

* * *

Sanji seethed as the door to his apartment was slammed shut and the shards of the lamp now littered his welcome mat. He could distantly hear Zoro making his way down the hall but it did nothing to relax the tense anger coursing through his body. Harsh breaths came in between gritted teeth as he continued to glare at the door and thought of all the painful things he'd like to do to that stalking, cocky, lying asshole.

When the last of Zoro's footsteps finally were out of ear shot and all that could be heard was his own distressed breathing and the distant thrum of the city he felt most of the anger and tension leave his body in a wave. Legs finally giving out, he collapsed back onto the couch that was thankfully just behind him, throwing his head back and slapping the palms of his hands against his face as he groaned in sheer annoyance.

That man was utterly insane. Completely off his rocker, out the back door, away with the fairies, gone bananas, bats in the belfry, rats in the attic, lost his marbles, half a deck of cards, bloody stark raving mad! Spirits and all that other bullshit. Sanji should've known that anyone willing to climb to a fifteenth storey window was clearly not in his right mind.

Why had Sanji allowed himself to go along with it?

Standing abruptly, his shin caught on the coffee table and caused it to skid forward a couple inches as he stormed out of the living room and headed for the kitchen; now more than ever needing that bottle of spiced rum. The ice had long since melted so he didn't even bother with fetching new cubes, downing the water dredges mixed with remnants of rum he refilled the glass and took a large shot before breathing out heavily.

So much was currently buzzing around through Sanji's head he had no clue where to start panicking, and where to start analyzing the situation. The burning of the alcohol was hardly having any affect on calming his nerves from the stressfulness of the situation and Sanji found his hand's begun to shake once more.

Waking up in that alley had been the shock of a lifetime. Pressed up so intimately against a _man_ for fuck's sakes; feeling those arms holding him so possessively had been unnerving and he still didn't know what freaked him out more; the fact that he had kissed a _man_ or that it was a _man_ that he didn't even know!

Yet, no matter how shocking the situation had been he calmly told himself that it wasn't the worst thing that could've happened. That man could have killed him, mugged him, or even fully raped him. Maybe all three! In the long run simply kissing the lunatic wasn't really the end of the world...

Then that man had followed him home!

What the fuck?! Who even does that?!

The man clearly had some mental issues that needed to be sorted out. Molesting, stalking, raving about spirits. And Sanji had let that lunatic into his home. Against his better judgement he inexplicably wanted those sunglasses back – no matter if he had to let a stranger preach to him about the netherworld.

Spirits.

What complete and utter nonsense. Sanji didn't know what the man was trying to achieve by telling Sanji such a tall tale, or making up such ridiculous notions. Maybe he was just one of those people that got kicks out of fucking with other peoples minds and wasting others time.

Though, there were some things that the man had said, and things that he had known that seemed like more than just a simple coincidence. His knowledge of Sanji's symptoms and of the currently odd situation had found himself in before he had even ran into Zoro was fairly unnerving.

And how had he woken up in the living room?

Sanji didn't know what kind of magic-voodoo trick _Zoro_ – if that was his actual name – had used to make Sanji black out but he for sure wasn't going to fall for it. And he even had the gall to accuse him of being _frightened_ and trying guilt trip Sanji afterwards with all that talk of 'a part of something bigger' crap.

Sanji groaned in pained confusion and lack of understanding as he downed the last of the glass, finally feeling the rum begin to kick in and leave a humming warmth inside him. This was just a really bad night that he was going to pretend didn't happen. He was going to wake up in the morning and forget about all this stupid talk of spirits, magic, and that insane green-haired man.

~X~

"So you found Prince?" Luffy asked as he looked over at Zoro from his place in front of the punching bag, his voice slightly broken by his panting as he was nearing the end of his session. Red tank top stained darker around the neck from his sweat and his blue shorts bouncing as he hopped lightly on the balls of his feet, "What was his host like?"

"Fucking insane." Zoro grumbled back as he continued his repetitions, mentally counting as he was going for his casual average in chin-ups while still maintaining a conversation with Luffy. An average five hundred usually did him good on a Sunday, or with just his casual workouts.

Luffy guffawed as he started on some knee jabs, thrusting his leg into the bag as hard as he could and receiving a hard smack of flesh as a reward. Doing a few more before dropping the leg and raising his left to do the same routine as he asked Zoro with a smirk, "So you like him, huh?"

"He threw a lamp at my head." Zoro griped back as he pulled himself up once more, before slowly lowering himself back down. Keeping up the carefully executed routine to keep his momentum even as he thought about that dumb blond and the night before. "He's fucking temperamental."

"That's pretty funny though." Luffy responded, though the knowing grin from Zoro's response didn't leave his cheeky face, "But I guess we'll just have to play the waiting game."

"Yeah," Zoro agreed casually, ignoring Luffy's smirk and opting for staring directly ahead of him. Watching the wall as he continued to raise and lower his body, "Just have to wait till the dumbass comes to his senses. Shouldn't be long."

"Do you remember how long it took you to realize it was going on?"

Zoro paused with his chin by the bar, holding himself up as he contemplated the question before answering in slight annoyance, "Yeah..." Zoro let himself drop and continued with his reps, grunting quietly in between his next words, "But I didn't have someone tell me what was going on. I had to figure it out on my own."

"True." Luffy agreed absently as he continued punching the worn out gym punching bag vigorously, several consecutive hits before bouncing on the balls of his feet for a couple seconds before switching arms and continued with the same reps. "Still kind of a weird thing to get used to."

"Oh yeah." Zoro chuckled slightly breathless as he began to reach the end of his reps, remembering the first time he had fully come to realize Asura's presence, though being intoxicated, it had been enlightening and when he had sobered up, he had immediately sought out the spirit.

At first their attitudes conflicted in the worst ways possible. Asura constantly being his natural unpleasant self while Zoro desperately tried to understand if he was going insane or not. Only after several weeks of tolerating each other did it become painfully obvious that their conflicting personalities were due to them being too much alike. Eventually they came to respect each other and that had been nearly two years ago. Zoro had been living with the spirit since then and could easily call him a friend now.

Regardless, Zoro could understandably see where Sanji was coming from. He had been in the exact same situation and knew all the questions and fears that were no doubt running through the blonds head. Though it did seem that this spirit – Prince – was a hell of a lot more levelheaded than Asura was.

Zoro finally dropped from the bar with a small groan at the delicious burning sensation running up his arms and stretched them over his head languidly as he watched Luffy finish up his reps. Dropping his arms he sighed heavily and muttered, "Guess we just have to wait."

"He'll come around." Luffy reassured with a honest grin as he hit the bag one last time before completely dropping his aggressive stance and leaned casually against the bag, "Besides it's not like he can run forever."

"You haven't seen how stubborn this guy is." Zoro warned as he tossed Luffy a towel and water bottle before retrieving his own, squeezing a bit onto his face and sighing at the relief the cool liquid brought. Luffy draped the towel over his neck and made his way over to his gym bag, quickly kicking off his shoes and shirt before pulling on his red vest.

"Give him a few days and then we can both go bug him." Luffy offered as he threw his gym gear into his bag haphazardly, "Sound fun?"

Zoro paused and wondered what else the blond might try to throw at Zoro's head if he showed up again and with Luffy in tow. Knowing Luffy he'd probably raid the fridge and the blond would potentially kill them both for reasons completely unrelated to Prince.

"So, you gonna come hang at Usopp's tomorrow night?" Luffy prodded ecstatically, completely moved past the whole Sanji problem, "He says we can raid the fridge and he just bought the new Pirate Ops: Thriller Bark. It has zombies!"

"Yeah, sure." Zoro shrugged with a fond grin as they exited the main gym and headed toward reception to retrieve their shoes. An evening watching the two kids destroying electronic zombies would be potentially entertaining. Not to mention he had been wanting to try out the new Pirates, "Why not?"

"Sweet." Luffy chuckled as he swung his red pack over a shoulder, slipping on his flip-flops as they both made their way out of the gym and toward the parking lot, "Around ten sound good?"

"I'll be there."

~X~

Arriving at his work-turned-apartment he pulled his old '89 Toyota Camry into the small back alley he used as a parking spot, grabbing his gym bag from the passengers seat he hopped out and made his way to the front of the building. Unlocking the doors, he tossed his gym bag off to the side and kicked off his shoes as he turned on the large overhead lights that illuminated the mats of the small dojo.

This small dojo was his pride and joy as he held several different types of martial arts classes here as well as ranging age groups. Today was his children's Muay Thai and later on his adult's Judo classes. As he awaited for the children to eventually arrive he quickly tidied up, making sure all the practice bokens were put away from yesterdays Kendo course.

The small jangle of the bell that hung by the door could be heard as it was slammed open and several children came running into the dojo followed by their calm yet worn out mothers. Shoes were quickly kicked off as the students came running onto the mats with their gym bags in hand.

"Zoro!"

Zoro's face broke out into a grin as the children of his afternoon Muay Thai class tried to tackle him, always determined to gang up on him and knock him over before class started – yet never fully succeeding. Laughing he pried a young hyper brunette boy – Michael – from his leg.

"How you guys doing?"

Various replies were shouted at him as the kids all spoke one on top of the other so Zoro could hardly make out a word that any of them were saying. As the kids chattered, their parents took seats along the wall to watch and more students were slowly arriving. The hysteria upon first arriving slowly dwindled until the children were much calmer and each gender quickly divided into the proper bathrooms to get their gear on.

Zoro took the silent moment to quickly shed his shirt and pants, and stumble into his own pair of shorts. Absently bandaging his hands as he tried to ignore some of the awkward stares that were placed upon him by the overly affectionate mothers. Some of them took absolutely too much pleasure in looking at him without a shirt on.

Changed into their workout clothes the children quickly filed out of the bathroom, many engaging in a game of tag, or simply running around the mats screaming much louder than was necessary; their cheerful prepubescent shrill voices echoed off the walls of the dojo.

With the finishing of the knot on his bandages he turned to the room and yelled a simple command for attention and all the children immediately went silent and looked to him instinctively. Another commanded to line up for bow in had them all running to their places with swift efficiency. Parents often came to him after class in a state of awe and wondering how exactly he was able to control – not only their own off-the-wall child – but a room full of them with barely any trouble.

He never made a comment about their bad parenting skills and merely stated that he made it clear to the children first class that disrespect for the teacher and an inability to listen would have them out on their ass faster than he could kick. Just for show he had had Luffy come by for a few practice fights just to show the children what they would be learning; and to instill some fear into them. Regardless, the parents were always thrilled with the outcome; some even stating that their child's delinquent behaviour was receding.

After a quick bow Zoro clapped his hands together with a grin before informing the kids, "Alright. Last class I felt you all grasped the concept of kicking – or Te – quite well. And I know many of you having been dying to learn, so since it's the last class before spring break I figured we would start on the Roundhouse Kick, also called...?"

He paused and glanced at the students. From the looks on their faces it was clear that they had hardly heard a thing past the words 'roundhouse' and 'kick'. Their aggressive child mentality having been affected by the type of kick that famously equated to all childhood fighting heroes like Bruce Lee or Chuck Norris.

"Anyone?" Zoro questioned again with a slight tone to his voice clearly stating that nothing would happen until they properly responded to the language aspect of the class. An enthusiastic brunette – who also took part in Zoro's Kendo and Judo classes – raised his hand quickly, straining the arm desperately. "Yes, Jason?"

"It's called Te tat..." He trailed off as he lowered his hand before mumbling, "I think."

"Exactly." Zoro stated happily, "Now before we get into pairs I want you all to try it on your own. The Straight Kick that you've all mastered is relatively simple, but now for the Roundhouse your centring is going to be a lot different. It's going to be a rotating movement of the entire body."

Zoro positioned himself parallel to the students so that they could see the side of him as he preformed a slow motion version of the kick for them all to witness. Taking a practised step forward he threw himself into a kick that he had preformed so often it had become muscle memory. Twisting professionally and snapping his leg out before lowering the leg and stepping back.

"I want everyone to start with the basic step in, and the raising of the leg." Zoro explained quickly, since it appeared a few of the kids looked about ready to pass out from inactivity, "I'll come by and once I think your set up is proper I'll show you the rest. Sound good?"

A ringing chorus of 'Yes Sensei' rang out in the dojo as all the students spread out on their own to start practising their kicks. Zoro had made it around to a few students before the heavy metal tone of 'Last Man Standing' by Hammerfall blared out through the room to announce an incoming call on Zoro's phone.

"Keep practising." Zoro ordered as he quickly ran over to his gym bag and pulled the cell from his discarded jeans pocket and grinned as he noted the Unknown Caller that popped up on the screen. Looks like the blond had finally come around; didn't take that long. Zoro pressed Answer with his thumb before bringing the phone up to his ear and grinning, "Hello."

~X~

Sanji sat in his rocker – fingers drumming agitatedly against the arm rest as he stared down the shades currently sitting innocently on his coffee table – angrily mulling over why exactly he found himself apprehensive of the glasses. He had slept for probably a total of three hours before he had awoken and lain in bed as he had contemplated everything that had recently happened in his life these past few weeks.

The insomnia had been one thing, but he had begun to worry when he started waking up in different places and he couldn't explain the gaps in his memory. At the time he had simply brushed it off, but the more he thought about it something was terribly wrong with him. Whether it be lack of sleep due to stress, or perhaps the emergence of a dissociative personality, or amnesia as he slowly lost his memories.

And through it all Zoro was the only person out there that seemed to have a ready answer for everything that was starting to go wrong in Sanji's life. But that answer was probably the most insane diagnosis of them all and seemed so thoroughly impossible.

Sanji sighed heavily as he let his eyes slide shut and block out the image of the glasses as he pressed two fingers to his temple and rub gently to stave of an impending headache. All of these problems had started since he had bought these damned glasses. Coincidence or not it seemed like they were at fault.

Those glasses...

They were just a stupid pair of sunglasses that he had bought in a pawn shop; there was nothing marvellous or special about them. And yet he found himself stalling to put them on, all thanks to that damned green-haired bastard who had to plant the idea of ghosts and possession into the blond's mind.

Slowly opening his eyes he once more glared down the innocent looking specs and inwardly scolded himself. Was he seriously about to admit that the raving lunatic that had followed him home last night had been perhaps telling the truth?

Sanji snorted at the very idea that what that man was telling him could possibly be true and snatched up the sunglasses. He would prove that smug bastard wrong. Zoro wasn't anywhere near him to cast any stupid spell and Sanji would prove that he could where these damned glasses.

With renewed confidence Sanji smirked confidently at the knowledge that he was right and nothing supernatural could possibly happen as he slipped the glasses onto his nose. Without pause everything immediately went black and he couldn't even remain conscious long enough to feel his body begin to slip off of the couch.

~X~

"You stupid blond." Prince cursed out loud as he glared down at Sanji's body. If Sanji was going to be this damned stubborn then Prince was going to properly teach him a _very_ clear lesson. Several hours lost from his day and maybe a few creepy messages were going to have to be in order, "I'll make you believe Zoro."

Pausing only to grab a jacket, Prince stormed from the apartment as for the first time he actually used the door, not wanting to risk anyone in broad daylight seeing him climbing out of a fifteen storey window. The door slammed shut behind him and he locked it with a flick of magic before he looked up and was faced with a reflection of himself.

Prince stared at the two panels of iridescent metal panelling opposing him on the wall, shut tight and refusing to open unlike so many other sensory operated doors he had come across in the city. Two small buttons on the wall adjacent to the doors were present – an arrow pointing up and an identical one pointing down – they appeared most likely to be responsible for operating the doors so he tentatively reached out and pressed the arrow pointing down.

Nothing happened besides the arrow beginning to glow a dull orange, and vaguely from beyond the doors a sound could be heard. Prince stood in front of the baffling contraption still completely confounded by the workings of the twenty-first century and just as he was contemplating taking the window outside there was a prominent ding and the doors slid open.

The spirit stared into the small cubicle in confusion as it seemed that these doors in fact lead to no where. A simple small room with reflective walls that pseudoed Prince's contorted perplexed expression. Nothing however seemed dangerous about the box room.

Cautiously, he entered the room and before he had barely stepped across the threshold the sliding doors threatened to slam close on him. Throwing himself into the elevator he stood with the palms of his hands flattened against the wall in terror as the doors innocently finished closing like they hadn't just tried to guillotine him.

Silence rang out as Prince remained frozen in the small room as nothing happened aside from the glowing panel on the wall lighting up with various numerical symbols. When no threat presented itself Prince slowly pushed himself off of the wall and carefully stepped over to the panel. It seemed that most things in the era were operated by fancy buttons and touchable glass.

Prince decisively pushed the number '1' as it seemed like the most reliable of numbers in this situation and with a small jolt the room moved. At first very slowly but then it began to gain speed.

The room began to drop with what felt amazing velocity and Prince instinctively panicked, casting an explosive wave of magic up to tear way the pitiful tiles on the ceiling that acted as protection. The spirit leaped up and out of the room, barely noting the long shaft he now found himself trapped in, and latched onto the wall. Magic coated his hands and feet so he was able to keep himself in place as he glanced down at the still plummeting room.

A large cable that seemed to be attached to the roof was forcing the small room down and to it's inevitable crushing death at the bottom of the long shaft. Extending an arm out he sent a wave of as much magic as he could muster to slice through the thick metallic vines that were forcing the room to it's eventual demise. The tension released with a sickening crack, the cables snapping up at the sudden loss of its weight and the elevator came to screeching halt in the shaft with no longer having any support.

Prince let out a relieved sigh before climbing carefully up the wall until he found the back of what must be one of the reflective doors that was on the landing of Sanji's apartment complex. Forcing them open with a simple snap of magic he jumped out of the elevator shaft, closing the doors just as decisively before he began dusting himself off.

Straightening his jacket he cast a glance over his shoulder at the doorway and snorted derisively. There was still so many things he didn't understand about this era. Why would humans willing create a room that caused them to plummet to their death?

Striding to the window he threw it open as he decided that he really didn't give a crap about whoever saw him and he just need to get out of this infernal building.

~X~

Sanji sat in his reclined rocker, blearily blinking up at the ceiling as the afternoon sun glared through his apartment windows and cast orange rays of light throughout the room. Wallpaper and ceiling became tinged with the glowing supple colours of the sun and it took Sanji only a moment to realize that it couldn't possibly be that time of day.

Sitting up in complete shock he nearly screamed as he witnessed the vandalism done to his wall. Large, blackened words were scrawled across the wall, appearing to have been burned into drywall by some form of precisely controlled flame. Two simple words that had his mouth drying, forehead sweating and his breathing escalating to near hyperventilation levels.

Panic immediately settled in and Sanji jumped up in fear that someone else was in his apartment and playing a nasty trick. Upon hurried inspection he found the door locked and his bedroom and bathroom were completely empty; his flat was small and there really was no place to hide. He was completely alone.

Once more back in the living room Sanji stood in front of the words that bore down upon him like a visage of complete carnage that made him sick to his stomach but unable to turn his eyes away. Swallowing thickly around his dried throat Sanji stared up at the words that were very clearly written by his own hand – the writing unmistakably familiar in an eery way – as he read the words.

_I'M HERE!_

To anyone else, at any other time, Sanji would have been confused. But after such recent events the symbolization of the simple words was obvious. Spirits, ghosts, whatever the hell you wanted to call it, it was making itself clear that Sanji was wrong in his belief that this was all simply foolish ravings of a madman. Sanji blinked up owlishly at the words, panic now replaced by terrified confusion.

Barely a moment later he was fumbling with his phone as he quickly typed the number into his cell and hit call. Hand shaking as he held the phone up to his ear he stared at the large writing on the wall in front of him trying to keep himself from hyperventilating once more.

Three rings and still no answer and he was starting to worry that maybe Zoro was just a figment of his imagination and he was actually starting to just go insane. On the fourth ring there was a click and then a deep baritone spoke into the phone, "Hello."

Relief flooded through Sanji as he swallowed thickly and he prepared himself for the inevitable conclusion that he was going to have to admit that Zoro was potentially right and that he had been the one being a lunatic in this situation. He nearly hung up in embarrassment when he stuttered over his question, "I-Is this Zoro?"

"Hmph." The man huffed into the phone, "Finally coming to your senses?"

"Shut up alright." Sanji snarled as it became apparent that Zoro already knew full well that it was Sanji and seemed to sound very confident in the fact that he knew he had been right, "I just need to figure out what the fuck is going on and then fix it. Can you come over?"

"I'm at work right now." There was some shuffling static as the phone hit something, "But does nine work?"

"Yeah." Sanji mumbled absently as he stared up at the words scrawled across his wall and realized that he'd need some time to clean it up before the man came over, "That'd be perfect."

"See ya then." Came the short reply before a voice could be heard asking something in the distance and Zoro abruptly hung up leaving Sanji once more in the silence of his house.

~X~

There was knock at the door and Sanji took a moment to calm himself and check that the painting he had bought fully covered the scorched words on his wall before opening the portal to reveal the green-haired man. Zoro was dressed much like he was last time they had met; wearing a pair of worn jeans and a baggy dark green hoodie with a red insignia of a scorpion on the front. It seemed that the casual look was all the man went for.

"Not gonna throw another lamp at me are you?" Zoro asked with a sneer that made Sanji sorely tempted to slam the door in the man's obnoxious face. Keeping his anger in check he reminded himself that he needed this man's help as much as it pained him to admit it.

"That depends," Sanji began calmly, happy at how controlled his voice had come out, "You gonna keep stalking me?"

Zoro just rolled his eyes with a snort and pushed his way into the apartment, ignoring the strangled noise of indignation from Sanji. A hand casually scratched at the back of the green head as he made his way into the living room and plopped down on the couch as if he owned the place.

"Getting comfortable are we?" Sanji asked in annoyance.

Zoro clasped his hands behind his head, kicked off his shoes and placed his feet on the coffee table before grinning up awardingly at Sanji, "Yes. Considering you need me; I don't give a fuck if I piss you off."

Sanji pursed his lips into a thin line and closed his eyes as he took a few calming breaths. Of all the inconsiderate, rude, obnoxious, self-righteous assholes that he needed to meet, of course he had to meet the only one on the fucking planet that could help him with his problem. The blond breathed out harshly through his nose before opening his eyes and returned the grin falsely.

"Do you want anything to drink?"

Zoro seemed to contemplate this for a moment before grinning, eyes flashing in a way that told Sanji that the man was thoroughly enjoying fucking with Sanji, "That spiced rum you were pounding back when I came here last time looked rather good."

Sanji closed his eyes once more and took in a calming breath that did little to help his frustration, "Right away."

While Sanji quickly fumbled through his kitchen to find the necessities Zoro had requested the blond paused for a moment to tangled his hands in his hair and double over as he let all of his current frustration in one long, silent scream. Once most of his anger had been drained through the silent yell he let the tension drain from his body and stood. Retrieving the ice that he needed while Zoro could distantly be heard humming a tune.

Sanji returned with two glasses filled with ice and a new bottle which he placed on the coffee table for Zoro. Feeling a bit calmer he took a seat opposite the man in his chair. The host immediately poured himself a glass, leaned back in his chair, downed half and then finally turned to Sanji. "So what do you need?"

"I – well..." Sanji drummed his fingers lightly on his knee trying to best think of how to start this conversation, "I'm willing to keep an open mind. This whole spirits shit is completely ludicrous, but recent things have put into light a situation that I cannot ignore and nothing I can think of or – or fucking Google – will make any sense. And since you're the only person who seems to have a ready answer I feel like I should hear you out."

"I don't care one way or another if you believe me." Zoro replied as he finished the drink and poured himself some more, ice clacking against the glass, "When I leave you're the one who has to deal with reality and stop acting like a scared child."

Sanji scowled but refrained from insulting the man, "I'm not scared."

Zoro only snorted, the sardonic look on his face saying all it needed to about how pathetic he thought Sanji was acting. In return Sanji pictured pushing Zoro out of his kitchen window and watching as the smug man fell to his death. The image of Zoro lying dead in the alleyway helped with his current urge to punch the man in the face.

"Alright." Sanji stated as he fought to keep himself opened minded, reaching out and filling up his own glass to the brim with rum, feeling that he was going to need the alcohol to make it through this as he muttered, "Explain to me the whole spirits in the objects thing."

Zoro watched him calmly for a moment, dark brown eyes assessing him silently as he seemed to be contemplating something unspoken. Swilling his drink lightly, the clacking of the ice on the glass was the only sound between them, a look of decision flashed across the man's face as he finally leaned forward.

"When you put on the glasses you black out right?" Zoro waited for Sanji's nod of confirmation, "That's because you were going into your minds..." Zoro waved his hand as though looking for the right word, "room so to speak. And because you didn't know about the spirit your mind had put up a protective mental wall. Since you were confined to your mind the spirit would then take over."

"So he's been running around in my body?" Sanji asked lightly as he tried to keep up with Zoro's train of thought, still wondering whether or not he should believe if this was all true or not. Though the idea of a spirit possessing his body and running around Grand Line causing chaos did not bode well with him. It did however explain his sudden lapses in memory and the writing on his wall, "All those times?"

"Yes." Zoro replied as he downed the second glass, placing it on the table and not reaching for the bottle, instead settling back in his seat and waiting for Sanji's next question. Sanji was still sceptical but played along nonetheless, taking a sip from his own glass before setting it down on the table.

"So how do I talk to mine? Or communicate? Or -" Sanji shook his head and placed a hand to his face trying to ignore how utterly stupid he sounded, "Or whatever."

"Put them on." Zoro replied, "If you're ready to accept the fact that he's there then your mental wall should drop, then you'll be able to talk to him and come to an agreement."

"And you've come to an agreement?" Sanji asked as his eyes flicked to the black bandana on Zoro's upper arm, vaguely remembering the man mentioning that there was a spirit trapped within the fabric. He mentally snorted at this whole ordeal and casually pulled his glasses from his pocket.

"Yes." The man's hand gently covered the garment, "We've come to an agreement."

"So were you conscious when you were molesting me in that alley?"

"No!" Zoro blushed profusely, "Look sometimes Asura does what he wants, but as long as it doesn't harm my body I don't complain. Usually I control him, but sometimes he has stuff to do; he probably sensed your spirit had been mortalized."

Sanji frowned, not entirely satisfied with such a misgiving answer. If Zoro was telling the truth then he just let this spirit run around in his body without any restraint? And why would the spirit want to contact Sanji's? How had the spirit even found him in the first place? And what the fuck was an-, "Asura?"

"Yeah." Zoro snorted condescendingly as though the answer was obvious and Sanji was the one being ridiculous here, "His name. They were people before getting sealed in these objects you know."

Sanji sighed and fell back in his chair rubbing his temples as he began to feel a headache coming on. Keeping up with Zoro's ramblings and theories was almost as difficult as following a child's imaginative train of thought, "Okay, so my spirit – whatever the fuck his name is – will contact me if I put on the glasses and _look_ for him."

"I'll stay right here in case it doesn't work." Zoro offered.

"Okay." Sanji said calmly but was internally grateful to the man for the offer. If anything of this insane talk was actually real – if a spirit was in fact possessing his body and running all over Grand Line – then he'd like it if someone who actually knew what he was dealing with would be there to stop the spirit from doing anything else without Sanji's permission.

But that was of course only if Zoro was actually telling the truth.

Sanji picked up the shades and looked them over carefully, they certainly didn't look like something that contained a thousand year old spirit, the very idea of a spirit trapped inside them was completely ridiculous. But with no other explanation possible he assumed he might as well give it his all. If there was in fact a spirit in them then that meant that Zoro wasn't a madman and was telling the truth. Something that seemed just as unpleasant.

Sanji took a steadying breath and slid the glasses onto his nose, and felt the scenery around him dissipate. Everything around him tinged black as he began to loose consciousness. Zoro's presence faded, his vision blurred and the couch beneath him disappeared completely as everything was engulfed in nothing.

There was not a single sound; no traffic out on the road, the stomping of the tenants above him, or even his own breath. He couldn't hear a single thing as he kept his eyes shut in slight fear of what he would be met with upon opening them. What if he was transported to a weird dimension like in Lord of the Rings and the evil eye of the spirit would be peering into his very soul?

Or worse what if he was dead?

Reaching out all his senses to the utmost of his abilities he tried to find even the tiniest iota of sound or movement; instead it was complete, eery silence. It took actual effort on his part to calm his breathing and try to keep from having a panic attack. Once feeling a little less lightheaded he steeled himself, took a deep breath, opened his eyes and saw... nothing.

It felt like he was in space – everything around him was black – though he could still completely see himself and was able to discern that he was in fact standing on something. Though that something blended into the rest of nothingness. It was vaguely reminiscent of The Matrix where Neo and Morpheus had stood in the data space of pure white. Though he doubted he could conjure up a Costco full of tactile weapons and machine guns with a thought.

"Hey." A deep, sensual baritone stated from directly behind Sanji and the blond spun around, arms raised and heart pounding in his throat. He had thought that he was alone.

A man with strange familiarity stood before him. He wore a tight fitting, stylish black suit that made him look entirely made from angles. A blue collared pinstripe shirt was visible, and was set off with a sleek black tie that was smoothed impeccably against the man's hard chest. The eyes were a shockingly familiar blue that matched his shirt and his choppy blond hair set off the whole look mixing the style of the suit and the crazy bedhead.

It was odd staring at this man that seemed so alike to him in ways, but then was subtlety different in others. Like hair choice and his lack of curled eyebrows. But that cocky grin was eerily similar is ways that made Sanji shiver.

"You – you..." Sanji stuttered awkwardly, "Who?"

"I'm Prince." The man intoned formally with a slight bow, his burning blue eyes watching Sanji intently, "I'm glad we finally meet."

Sanji's mouth hung open as he stared at the man in utter shock. There was no way. No _fucking_ way that this was happening. It was completely and logically impossible. Maybe Zoro had spiked the rum and had specifically requested the bottle so Sanji would hallucinate and start seeing shit.

"Stop hyperventilating will you?" Prince snorted lightly as he straightened his stance and smoothed down his suit, "I can _feel_ your agitation and it's making me uncomfortable."

"This can't be possible."

"Oh, I thought the same." Prince smiled charmingly, "Waking up to find myself bound to a pair of glasses. Trust me; I thought it was bad dream for a good couple decades."

Sanji watched the spirit cautiously – still not sure if he was trustworthy yet – as he began to filter through everything Zoro had told him; as crazy as it had all sounded at the time. Oh God! Had this man been running around Grand Line in his body? Had he molested others like he had done to Zoro? What the fuck had he done?!

"So let me get this straight," Sanji began nervously, "Your spirit is stuck to these shades and whenever I've put them on you've been in control of my body?"

Prince inclined his head lightly, "Not to worry. I merely was exploring the city; you can imagine how annoying it is to be stuck inside a pair of glasses and unable to take part in the changes in the world. Still haven't used a computer of fuck's sake."

The simple admission had Sanji relaxing visibly at the fact that he wouldn't be getting any unexpected visits from the cops thanks to this man. Though whether or not he was telling the truth and was trustworthy was still a matter that he had yet to determine. However, the man didn't seem hostile or untrustworthy in any way.

"That's why I've been so exhausted?" Sanji asked slowly as the spaces were finally beginning to get filled in, "Because you've been up at all hours of the night?"

"Yes, I apologize." Prince seemed sincere in his apology before he continued, "But it was partially necessary to get your attention. I regret having to resort to vandalizing your apartme-"

"Shh." Sanji commanded harshly as he shut his eyes abruptly, placed his hands over his ears and took several deep breaths to try and calm himself. This wasn't that strange. Zoro had warned him about this, and apparently been telling the truth the whole time. Strangely, he was more annoyed that he was going to have to admit Zoro was right than he was about all this spirit nonsense.

This spirit – Prince – did in fact exist. Past that Sanji hadn't even started to fathom what it could possibly mean and instead of finding his mind overflowing with questions he found that he had been shocked into silence. Dumbfounded to the point of mute. This must have been what shock victims must have felt like.

Finally – with a bit more composure – he was able to lower his hands and look back up at the spirit with stronger resolution. Once more looking up at the identical entity that watched him with something close to concern in his sharp eyes before asking, "You okay?"

"I'm not sure." Sanji replied honestly and finally tore his eyes away from the spirit that was staring at him far too intently and instead inspected the black surroundings once more, "Where exactly are we?"

Prince glanced around feigning interest as though it was the first time he had even noticed being hung in this black void. A cigarette suddenly vaporized between his lips and he took a heady drag before blowing the smoke out with a thoughtful hum, "My bet would be your mind."

"My mind?" Sanji frowned, and glanced around as though expecting something to have changed. He vaguely recalled Zoro saying something along those lines. What had he called it; a mind room?

"Seems about right." Prince muttered before grinning cheekily at Sanji, "What? Still don't believe Zoro?"

At this Sanji's eyes widened and he fairly began to panic once more at the idea that the spirit could read his mind. "How do you know about that?!"

"I may be bound to a pair of specs but I can still see and take in everything around me." Prince took a quick drag and tucked his free hand into his pocket, "I saw the whole conversation."

"Okay... okay okay okay okay." Sanji placed a hand to his forehead as the shock was slowly beginning to fade and the reality of situation was really starting to settle in, "Let's say that this is all real and I'm not on drugs. Why me?"

"I don't know." Prince shrugged, "Probably some bloodline, or destiny crap. Do I look like I care?"

"I CARE!" Sanji shouted hysterically, as he waved his arms to emphasize his hysteria, "Why does it have to be me? Can't you find someone else to inhabit? I have a life!"

"Trust me, I've tried." Prince muttered quietly, "I spent centuries trying to find a way out of those glasses. Year after year I was jostled around – worn by some unsavoury people – and not one of them allowed me to be free. Then you put them on and I was kicked into your body."

Sanji pursed his lips in annoyance at the answer that simply brought them back to the beginning of the conversation making nothing clearer for the blond. He decided to go back to the original topic of discussion, not exactly knowing what you were supposed to talk about with a spirit currently trapped in your body. The weather wasn't an option so the surroundings were the next bet, "So is it always just nothingness in here?"

"This is your mind." Prince waved a hand absently, "Create what you want."

"...and by create you of course mean...?"

Prince shrugged indifferently, "It's your mind; think of what you want to be your surroundings and they'll appear. Think of this as a dream; you can make whatever you want happen."

"Impossible."

"You like that word even though you keep being proved wrong time and again."

"Fine!" Sanji muttered in annoyance as he furrowed his brows and focused on the blackness around him. If he could be anywhere else at this moment he'd want to be at a beach relaxing in the sand and forgetting that all of this was happening to him. He began to picture the white, sparkling sand, and the glittering ocean as it rocked calmly, and the warm sea breeze that would hit his cheek and-

And in a sudden whoosh everything changed. The hard invisible floor in the void was replaced with sand and the black infinity was swept up in a sudden wind and changed into a beach with the ocean stretching on toward the horizon. Palm trees waved lazily in the breeze that a few gulls were riding, and the hot sun beat down on Sanji's neck warming the skin.

"No. Fucking. Way." Sanji managed as he turned – feeling the sand slipping between his toes – as he inspected all of his surroundings in complete and utter disbelief. Everything looked so real. Completing an entire circle he viewed all of his new surroundings in wonder before coming to stop once more in front of the spirit.

"Very nice." Prince muttered as he glanced around appraising, "At least my host seems half way intelligent."

"Host?" Sanji raised a brow, beginning to feel the threads of anger seep into him.

"You are host to my spirit." Prince explained dryly, "What else shall I call you?"

"I'm Sanji." Sanji intoned sharply.

"Very well, Sanji." Prince smiled fondly before continuing, "Listen, we're in your mind and I can literally feel every emotion and thought that's buzzing around in your head. Let's clear up what's bothering you, huh?"

Sanji frowned at the perceptiveness of the spirit, especially not liking the fact that he could supposedly feel everything currently going on in Sanji's mind. It just felt like an extreme invasion of privacy. What were you supposed to do when even your mind was open to be read. What was more; why had the spirit hid?

"Why haven't you contacted me before?"

"I wasn't able to." Prince admitted casually, "Until you realize that I am there your mind put up a mental wall. You had to search for me."

Sanji accepted the answer reluctantly, the story seemed fairly congruent with Zoro's explanation. A mental wall, or whatever exactly he had called it. It seemed at least the spirit seemed to be honest, and from his formal attitude he at least seemed like a respectable and considerate person – spirit – thing. Staring levelly at the spirit Sanji calmly assessed the man. He didn't seem to be lying, nor malicious in anyway, and his tone was nothing but sincere. And yet, Sanji was still annoyed, still felt betrayed by the fact that the spirit had used his body without his permission.

"Listen," Prince gave heavy sigh and his hand patted Sanji's shoulder, "I wanted to apologize for the past couple weeks."

The water lapped gently onto the beach, sand swirling in its currents before drawing back to create small waves that splashed up onto the beach weakly. A few gulls croaked in the far off distance, as the wind swept around and between them, whipping the fresh scent of sun tan lotion and coconut up to invade his senses. Sanji remained silent as the manufacturings of his mind overwhelmed him and waited for the man to continue.

"I'd waited for so long to be free that I admittedly was a bit selfish. I promise that I didn't do anything illegal." Prince was watching him steadily, but Sanji still didn't answer, "You're annoyed about Zoro, right?"

"If I am going to share this body with you I need to be able to trust you." Sanji began as he stared into matching blue eyes, "And already you've gotten on my nerves."

"What?" Prince chuckled, "Cause I made you kiss a boy? Grow up."

"It's not that." Sanji growled in annoyance as he fought against the memory of waking up in Zoro's arms with his tongue shoved half-way down his fucking throat, "You violated my body without my permission. I can't forgive that."

Prince sighed heavily and dropped the spent cigarette into the sand, grinding it out with the sole of a finely polished dress shoe, "You've clearly never been in love, huh?"

"What does that have to do wi-"

"I'm sorry." Prince interrupted firmly, as those intense eyes were once more looking directly into Sanji's and this time the pained longing was clearly visible, "I'm sorry I went against your wishes, but if you could even understand a fraction of what I feel for him you'd understand why I couldn't keep him at arms length."

A gust of wind lashed between the two men, rustling the branches of the nearby palm trees and causing Sanji's hair to whip against his face as he watched the forlorn spirit quietly. Prince did seem sincere in his apology but the melancholy in his voice while talking about Asura was heartbreaking. In retrospect of everything that had happened it made Sanji feel somewhat guilty about getting angry at the spirit.

"I just-" Sanji cut himself off as he looked away from Prince's ardent stare and glanced down at his feet – the grains slid between his toes and under his feet and felt so real it was hard to believe that this wasn't a real world that he was standing within. Glancing back up at the spirit he fought down a blush as he said more firmly, "I need to know how far you and him intended to go with our bodies."

Prince seemed to assess Sanji for a moment before a small smirk quirked the spirits lips as he muttered around his newly appeared cigarette, "Well we were lovers if that's what you're implying."

Sanji finally lost in his fight against the blush as his cheeks became a bright red due to Prince's blunt answer and the spirit started chuckling. Pursing his lips childishly he tried to think of something to say while also being annoyed at the mocking laughter being directed his way.

"Listen," Prince began with a light smile, "We can discuss this later. You need to come to terms with all of this, and I believe Zoro is waiting for you to wake up."

Zoro was waiting.

That was right. All of this was currently happening inside of his head and for some reason was actually real. Sanji stared at the spirit as he mumbled quietly, "This is really happening, isn't it? This isn't a dream?"

"Unfortunately, no." Prince responded with slight remorse, the sadness in his words implicating something painful that the spirit was obviously keeping to himself.

"So..." Sanji trailed off pathetically as he glanced around the vastness of the beach he had created within his mind, looking for an exit or some sign of how he had gotten himself in here, "How do I get out of here?"

"We're gonna have to work on your mental abilities." Prince chuckled lightly before dropping his cig in the sand and grinding it out, "Just focus on your real body and open your real eyes. It's like a dream; just wake up."

Sanji closed his eyes for a moment and tried to block out the sounds of the ocean, instead searching for what would usually accompany him in his apartment. When he heard the loud honk of a car horn down on the street his eyes snapped open to see Zoro sitting across from him watching intently.

The glasses were still in place on his nose but he was conscious, still in control of his body. A shaking hand rose to remove the shades as he started at Zoro in complete and utter awe at the realization that the man really hadn't been lying. That all of this was real.

"You okay?" Zoro asked as he inspected the blond carefully.

"I need a drink."

~X~

The pub had a nice rustic feel to it; rich woods made the atmosphere dark yet comfortable. Televisions were strategically placed for sports lovers and were playing everything from football and hockey to baseball and even golf. The bar was lit up to show the various bottles of coloured alcohol that could be purchased and the bartender was cleaning a glass as he watched a nearby football game.

It was empty aside from a few patrons that were most likely regulars. A couple sat at a table with two ciders forgotten as they were talking amiably together about something unheard. A man in a suit who looked haggard was having a pint at the bar and looked as though he was preparing himself for the tongue wagging he'd receive when he returned home to his wife. And there was a young gentleman perched right in front of one of the largest television's with beer in hand as he was mesmerized by the game.

They found a small table in the corner of the pub with a couple beers, a bottle of purchased Irish whiskey and two shot glasses. Zoro didn't know how well the blond could hold his liquor and he wasn't about to ask, but judging from that fact that the two times he'd met the blond he had had drink in hand; maybe the blond was an avid drinker.

"You sure you can handle that?"

Sanji snorted derisively as he poured them both a shot, "I'm barely holding myself together, and this here," Sanji raised the shot glass, "Is the wonderful glue."

The blond tossed back the shot like it was water and poured himself another, and tossed that back as well, before finally turning to Zoro. "So what happens now?"

"What do you mean?" Zoro raised a brow as he picked up his own shot, taking it back and relishing in the happy burn. It wasn't that he didn't want to drink – free alcohol was free fucking alcohol – but at the rate the blond was going he probably wasn't going to be able to find his apartment afterwards. And Zoro still had to drive home.

"Like..." Sanji waved his hand as he seemed to be searching for the right word, "There's a spirit that lives in my body now; what the fuck happens? Surely he isn't just sticking around the world for kicks?"

Another shot was filled and downed before the blond finally turned to his beer and took a swig as chase.

"I'm not really the person to explain their story." Zoro began slowly as he took a swig from his beer, "They trapped themselves into these objects because they had no choice, they were forced to. You should ask Prince to show you what happened."

"Show me?" Sanji asked in confusion, taking a sip from his beer as he watched Zoro with a frown. The lack of understanding showed on Sanji's face and Zoro had to remind himself the blond was still really behind when it came to the situation regarding the spirits.

"Yeah." Zoro grinned, "His memories."

Sanji's eyes narrowed lightly, but like he had done most of the night, slowly seemed to contemplate the response before seemingly accepting the answer. Zoro didn't really mind if the blond remained confused at the moment, at least he now believed Zoro. And was no longer throwing lamps at Zoro's head.

"What about us?" Sanji asked finally, the weight of his voice betraying what had been bothering him all along. The blond's eyes purposefully avoided Zoro's as he lightly scratched at something stuck to the table.

"What _about_ us?" Zoro raised a brow. He already knew what the blond was implying, but he wasn't about to speak out and make a fool of himself.

"Don't be thick." Sanji scowled as he fiddled nervously with his beer bottle, "There's something between the two spirits that we have."

"Yeah." Zoro scratched at the bandana absently, remembering exactly what Asura had shown him and the bond that the two spirits shared, "So?"

"So?" Sanji laughed with absolutely no humour, "That means that we – or them – well both of us..." Sanji poured himself another shot of whiskey in annoyance as he stumbled over his words, "Look I'm not homophobic or anything; I'm just not into guys. And if sharing my body with that spirit means he's gonna fuck around when my back is turned; I can't allow that."

"Sanji." Zoro stressed the man's name to get his full attention, blue eyes turned to look at him intently and for once the talkative man remained silent as he allowed Zoro his chance to speak, "It's your body. Prince will respect that."

Zoro could tell that Sanji wasn't satisfied with such an answer; Zoro had to admit that he knew that this situation wouldn't simply be resolved by Sanji saying no. These spirits had vigorously remained alive for a millennium for each other, and Sanji would hardly stand in their way. Sanji pursed his lips but nonetheless seemed somewhat placated.

"Besides," Zoro snorted lightly as his eyes travelled up Sanji's body, causing the blond to blush furiously as his expression became extremely uncomfortable, "I have standards."

"You ass." Sanji gritted through his embarrassment, and from the slight slur of his words it became apparent to Zoro that the tinge of red on his cheeks was from more than just a blush.

Zoro chuckled, shoulders shaking slightly as he watched the slightly annoyed blond send him an insulted glare from across the table. Blue eyes burning in indignation as white teeth gritted out another insult before the neck of a beer bottle was pressed against his lips and a large swig was taken.

"Regardless," Zoro took a swig of his beer before giving the blond an honest smile, "Try to look on the bright side. You know the truth now."

"True." Sanji amiably agreed with a small chuckle before he thoughtfully poked at the neck of his beer bottle, tilting the bottle on its side. A sudden look of decisiveness flashed across the blond features and he looked back up at Zoro as he raised his beer with a grin, "And at least I know that I'm not going insane."

Zoro grunted noncommittally as he clacked his bottle against the blond's, watching apprehensively as the man pounded back the beer and requested another from the barkeep. Somehow he felt like he'd have to be carrying this distressed host back home.

~X~

Zoro supported the clingy blond who seemed to think that the most productive thing to do was wrap his arms around Zoro's neck and sloppily giggle into his shoulder. To top it all the blond wasn't even _trying_ to walk, just dragging his feet as he laughed about something that probably wasn't even that funny.

"C'mon, blondie." Zoro muttered as he stopped walking altogether and tried to pry the blond of of him, "I'm not carrying your ass all the way home."

Sanji just started laughing harder, and his legs completely gave out as he hung from Zoro with an entirely too tight and sure grip for a stumbling drunk. Managing to get an arm under the blond's armpit, he hefted the man into a better position to assist Sanji's stumbling walk.

"Yo – you -" Sanji snorted loudly as he fell into another fit of giggles trying desperately to talk through his laughter but only serving to make himself laugh harder until he was gasping for breath, "You wanna know what's really funny?"

"No." Zoro deadpanned as he finally gave up on prying the blond off of himself and strode down the street dragging the annoying blond in his wake. The fucking things he put up with for his spirit, all because Asura wanted to bone the spirit attached to this emotionally distraught blond alcoholic. And his friends called him bad with his drink.

"But it's so funny!" Sanji whined through his giggles and once more let his feet drag. Zoro defiantly kept walking despite the blond's attempts to make Zoro stop walking to listen. He managed about a block before the pokes, giggles, and dragging feet got too annoying to ignore.

"Fine what?!"

"We're gonna end up fucking." Sanji could barely finish his sentence through his laughter and completely let go and fell to the ground holding his stomach as he laughed. A car drove by and the couple looked down at the laughing drunk blond and then at Zoro before gracing him with a sympathetic look. Zoro just sighed and looked down at the hysterical blond.

"That's not that funny."

"But it is!" Sanji guffawed and rolled onto his side. "I mean I'm not even gay! And now I'm gonna get fucked by some punk with green hair that I just met in a back alley."

"Okay, dude." Zoro grumbled and bent down, "Get up. You're rolling in gum and bird shit. And whatever else ends up on the sidewalk."

This didn't seem to faze the blond at all, though he allowed Zoro to pull him to his feet and seemed to actually stand on his own for the first time since they left the bar. Still giggling he stumbled beside Zoro as they made it the rest of the way to the apartment complex.

Pushing the double glass doors open they managed their way into the lobby, and made their way over to the elevator. Having not worked when Sanji and him had first headed out for a drink Zoro had assumed it would be fixed upon return but instead found a large 'OUT OF ORDER' sign hanging from the doors. Grumbling in his annoyance he turned and stared up at the ominous staircase in silent dread.

Sanji began to lose his humour and instead opted for nuzzling his face into Zoro's collarbone as he tried to drift off while standing up right. A large yawn was placed into the crook of Zoro's neck and he realized that blond was about to try and drift off.

"Oh, no you don't." Zoro growled firmly, pulling the blond off of him and holding him at arms length, shaking his shoulders slight to try and get the half-asleep blond to look at him, "You are not falling asleep here. I'm not carrying you up those stairs, you fucker."

Sanji's half-lidded eyes fluttered lightly before closing and he made a small grunt of acknowledgement before relaxing in Zoro's grip so the only thing keeping him from falling to the floor was Zoro's hold on him. For a moment Zoro was tempted to just let go. Let the damned blond fall to the floor and sleep in the lobby for the night. But he was almost positive that if he ditched the man when he was drunk then any and all progress they had made as friends would be mute.

Sighing in resignation he pulled on the black bandanna, allowing the demon's aura to fill him before flexing his arms and coating his arms in a stable mass of black magic before hefting the unconscious man into his arms and beginning the trek up stairs. The aura made the blond light as a child, and Sanji's head lolled against Zoro's arm as he made his way up the ridiculously large staircase.

By the time Zoro had gotten to the fifteenth floor he was ready to punch the smiling sleeping idiot right in the nose. Only the mantra of reminding himself that this was good training kept him from being too thoroughly pissed at the drunk blond. Vaguely, remembering Sanji's apartment number he got them outside the door and them placed Sanji once more on his own feet. The small nap up the stairs seemed to recover some of the blond's consciousness and he stood on his own while tiredly staring at his door.

"You get your keys out or I will break down your door and leave you in the foyer." Zoro threatened flatly, tempted to use magic to open the door, but not wanting to risk Sanji seeing it and questioning him later about it. He'd bring it up when the blond was sober and could link two thoughts together.

Sanji nodded tiredly as his fatigued hand dug around in his pocket absently, pulling out a ring of keys and fumbling with the lock. Zoro took the opportunity to pull off the bandanna and return it to his arm, keeping a cautious arm beside the man in case he decided to fall over.

Once inside Zoro tossed the blonds keys on the kitchen counter and steered the blond directly to his bedroom, wanting to just get the stupid man to sleep. In his room Sanji seemed to understand the routine and started working at getting his shirt over his head. There was a moment where Sanji got his elbows caught in the sleeves and he stood there struggling to get the fabric off his head and Zoro just watched the ordeal in slight awe, wondering if he should laugh or feel sorry for the drunk dumb ass.

Sanji finally managed to get the tee shirt over his head, but when he looked down to undo the zipper on his pants the alcohol seemed to rush to his head and he fell forward. Zoro caught him for the umpteenth time that night and like every other time Sanji clung desperately to Zoro's frame to keep from toppling over and potentially giving himself an injury.

Though this time instead of just clinging, Sanji slowly slid to his knees and rested his head against Zoro's thigh as he began to lightly sob. Zoro stood for a moment with his hands hovering inches from Sanji's shoulders as he watched the sudden change in behaviour in confusion.

"Oi. Oi." Zoro dropped down and grabbed the blond's shoulders in concern, holding him at arms length as he tried to get Sanji to look at him, "What's wrong?"

"Everything!" Sanji wailed as he looked up at Zoro with watery blue eyes, "I was going to University. I was gonna be a lawyer. Now I have a spirit in me. My life is over. And now I'm gonna be gay. And to top it all off I'm gonna get ass-raped by yo-o-ou."

The twitch in his eyebrow was due to a mixture of not only having to drag this dumb pessimistic blond all the way to his fifteen storey apartment, but also listen to his whining accusations about them fucking. He could take jabs but having to sit and listen to someone cry over the fact that they might have to fuck him was just a little too insulting to his ego.

Zoro took a firm grip on the blond's shoulder before drawing back and slamming his fist into Sanji's jaw. Sanji fell back on the floor – surprisingly still conscious – as he looked up at Zoro with a bit of clarity. Clarity which was quickly masked by anger, and confusion.

"What the fuck?!"

"First off; shut the fuck up." Zoro shouted as he towered over Sanji, who made a move to interrupt but a look from Zoro had him reluctantly leaning back on his elbows to listen to Zoro. "Your life is not over; whatever you wanna do; you do it. Yes, there is now a spirit that shares your body, but you are in control, not it. And as for us fucking; never gonna happen. It's your body, the spirit can't force you."

Sanji slowly pushed himself up so he was sitting, still leaning back on one hand as he sighed and ran a hand over his face with an exhausted sigh before admitting quietly, "I know... I know."

"I just..." Sanji breathed quietly before shaking his head sadly, "Everything's happening so fast."

"I know." Zoro said gently as he drew the blond up onto his feet, "But let's get you to bed and we can discuss this better when you're sober."

"'Kay." Sanji muttered in agreement as he teetered dangerously as he stood on his own, blue eyes going slightly out of focus and face looking unhealthily pale. Zoro realized a moment too late before Sanji leaned forward and threw up all over his feet, stumbled backwards and collapsed on his bed unconscious.

TBC...

* * *

A/N: Aren't they just adorable drinking buddies?


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Apologies for the wait. I broke my leg and ended up in the hospital. Between the heavy meds making me nauseous and the pain keeping me up at night I had barely the energy to write this past week. Feeling a lot better now and happy to get this chapter out to you guys :)

* * *

Sanji awoke with a pounding headache, an empty stomach and no recollection of what had happened last night. After relieving himself in the bathroom, stumbling into a pair of sweats and locating his toothbrush he felt remarkably better. Breath fresh and a bit more awake he made his way into the main part of the house and into the kitchen, preparing to make himself some hangover food.

A cheese and ham sandwich half shoved him his mouth, a bottle of water and a few aspirin in his hands, he made his way into his living room preparing to relax and watch television for the rest of the day. Rounding the corner he nearly spat out the sandwich when he spotted the half-naked green-haired monstrosity snoring on his couch.

Sprawling haphazardly, one leg falling off the couch and an arm thrown over his head to dangle from the arm rest, Zoro lounged on Sanji's couch in nothing more than his boxers with a blanket tangled around his torso. Snoring away he looked completely unperturbed as Sanji coughed up a bit of inhaled ham.

Sanji set down the sandwich, water and aspirin before walking over to the man, watching his sleeping face for a moment before jabbing the heel of his foot against the man's ribcage. Zoro's face scrunched up before he cracked an annoyed eye open at the blond – noting who it was and grumbling angrily – pulling the blanket up to cover his boxer clad body and his head.

"Oi." Sanji scowled, giving the man another sharp kick, "This is my house. What the fuck are you doing here?"

The blanket was sharply pulled away and Sanji nearly took a step back at the glare he was gifted with. Near black eyes were narrowed to slits as he watched Sanji in annoyance, "I'm tired as fuck. Will you just let me sleep?"

"But why are you here?!"

"I'm here," Zoro drawled, "Because I had to drag your drunk ass home from the bar, carry you up fifteen flights of stairs and then have you throw up all over me. So excuse me if I helped myself to your couch."

Rant done, Zoro turned and collapsed back on the couch and closed his eyes, determined to rest some more. Sanji in turn flushed an amazing shade of red as the words triggered flashes of memories from the night before. Various images such as him laying on the sidewalk laughing, and a vague sensation of throwing up; but where remained lost in the recesses of his mind.

"Oh, God," Sanji murmured in quiet embarrassment as other various snap shots from the previous evening assaulted him and he was given the small sensation of being punched at some point, "Did that really happen?"

"With some rolling around on the ground and sobbing fits in between, but yes it happened."

Sanji stood for a moment in embarrassment as the memories became more solidified in his mind, blushing furiously at his own immature behaviour. Ambiguously remembering laughing to Zoro about their potential sexual conquest and then later bawling to him about it before throwing up on the man. He placed both his hands over his face and groaned in embarrassment.

"Man, I'm so sorry." Sanji mumbled into his hands, desperately hoping Zoro would not judge him for a simple moment of drunken stupidity, "I'm – it's just that midterms and work -"

"I get it." Zoro raised a hand to stop Sanji's babbling excuses, giving a large sigh as he rolled over to face the blond, seemingly giving up on continuing to sleep, "This is something hard to adjust to and you're a little distraught over it. But you really need to get it through your head that this isn't the end of the world. It can actually be a really cool thing."

"This would've been cool in high school." Sanji grumbled as he fell back in a spare chair, "I have a life now; I can't be running around the city at night playing hero."

At that Zoro chuckled and pushed himself up into a seated position. Leaning his head to the side his neck cricked with a satisfying crack and the blanket fell to pool around his nude waist, "Your life seriously isn't going to change that much."

"How do you know?" Sanji bit back in slight annoyance, eyeing his sandwich but feeling rude finishing it while leaving Zoro with absolutely nothing to eat.

Zoro gave him a look that clearly stated how stupid he thought Sanji was before leaning forward and snatching up Sanji's half eaten sandwich, shoving half of it into his mouth. He had chewed, swallowed and taken another bite in the time it took for Sanji to stare at his hangover food in dismay and disbelief at Zoro's blatant audacity at eating other people's food.

Still shocked at Zoro's rudeness, the host pointed a finger at him and explained around a bite of ham and cheese, "The only reason Prince was running around at night was because he was looking for Asura. Now that they've found each other; it's not like he has anywhere else he needs to go, get it?"

Shaking away his anger about the sandwich Sanji focused on Zoro's words. It did seemed to make a lot of sense; though aside from Asura and Prince's connection he was still confused as to why they were trapped in these items to begin with. What had forced them to seal themselves within these objects? What had happened to them?

"So that's it?" Sanji asked in slight confusion, holding onto his questions for the moment. They seemed better to ask to Prince anyway. "We just continue on with our lives, occasionally letting them take control when they want some air?"

"Yeah, kinda." Zoro muttered with a small roll of his eyes to show that he clearly wasn't telling everything that need to be told at the moment. At Sanji's unimpressed look Zoro continued, "Seriously, don't worry about it for now. Do your exams or whatever. Live life."

Sanji opened his mouth to respond to the weird orders but couldn't quite find the words to say exactly how weird this whole conversation was. Instead he opted for muttering, "I was going to do that anyway."

"Good." Zoro stated happily, seemingly satisfied with Sanji's reply.

Sanji watched silently as Zoro stood, arm hooking behind his head and grabbing the opposing bicep as he extended his body in a large stretch, groaning in relief as he rocked onto the balls of his feet. Unconsciously, Sanji watched as the muscles in the man's torso tensed and flexed with the simple movement and he couldn't help but be impressed at how well built the man was. Always wearing those ratty jeans and baggy shirts he had looked like a scrawny fucker.

Zoro let his arms drop as he came back to rest on his heels with a content sigh, leaning his head to the side to crack his stiff neck. Sanji purposefully looked away, trying not to pout at the fact that the man's build was vastly more impressive then his own. It wasn't his fault that he was naturally more lean than muscular.

"What's that look for?" Zoro asked with a slight chuckle as he balanced on a foot to stumble into his pants. Sanji reluctantly looked back to watch as the man pulled the other leg on as well.

"Just thinking about how I'll need to sterilize the couch." Sanji grumbled behind the hand he was resting his chin on, glad that his voice sounded so casually malicious.

Zoro just chuckled as he straightened and pulled his pants up, doing up the button quickly before grabbing his shirt, "Yeah, well, I'm not the one that's throwing up on people."

Sanji's bravado was quickly shaken by that comment, causing his cheeks to flare up once more at the embarrassing situation that now Zoro held above his head. Casting a glance to his pant legs, looking for the traces of where he had apparently thrown up he asked, "Do you want clean clothes?"

"Naw, all good." Zoro explained as he began pulling on his shirt, "I washed them last night."

Sanji was allowed a moment of confusion where he wondered where exactly Zoro had washed them, and if the vindictive bastard had potentially used the sink in the bathroom that Sanji had just used to wash his face in. Or maybe he'd secretively used Sanji's toothbrush to scrub out the stains in a small act of revenge.

"Anyway, I hate to sleep and run." Zoro explained as he sidestepped around the coffee table and made his way to the door, already slipping into his shoes before continuing, "But I need to get to work."

"It's okay." Sanji pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the small surge of nausea that pounded against his forehead as he followed Zoro to the door, "I need to study anyway."

Laces barely done up properly, Zoro opened the door and gifted Sanji with a jaunty wave and a small smirk as he stepped out of Sanji's apartment. Muttering just before he closed the door, "Good luck on the exams."

"Thanks."

The door closed and Sanji barely spared the weird man another thought before stumbling backward and tumbling over the arm of the couch onto the soft upholstery. Not even bothering to care that the blanket now smelt of Zoro's steely musk, he snatched it up and pulled it over his head as he prepared to sleep his hangover away.

~X~

Small skate pack slung over a shoulder Zoro stepped out of the dojo, pulling out his key chain and fumbling through his various keys before finding the proper bronze one as he locked up the doors to the small martial arts academy. Placing his hand on the door handle he gave it a small wiggle to make sure that it was properly locked before putting his keyring in his pocket and turning out to face the street.

Spring was fully in Grand Line and the hints of summer were already on the way as humid night breezes tumbled through the city leaving a comfortable twilight feel. Doing up the buckle on the pack so it was strapped over his chest, he pulled his bandanna from his arm as he decided that it be much easier to travel by rooftop to Luffy's instead of navigating his car through late night traffic.

Placing the bandanna on his forehead he did it up sharply – a few hairs at the back of his neck getting caught in the knot – letting his hands fall to his sides as he let out a sigh as he felt the demon's aura fill him up. Coating himself in a light film so that he wouldn't be spotted by any late night pedestrians he braced his knees, shifted his foot slightly for a better grip and pushed off the ground as he launched himself up toward the opposing building. Nearly jumping seven stories up, his hands latched onto the balcony railing of someone's apartment flat, using his upper arm strength and the momentum of his jump he launched himself the rest of the way up.

Landing with a skid on the top of the apartment complex Zoro glanced around breathlessly at the fairly decent view the apartment provided. Granted there was many more buildings in the city that towered over him, but he still was able to glimpse the sea through gaps between distance buildings, as well as the giant forest laying to the north that led to Blue City.

Letting out a happy sigh he surveyed the city as lights were beginning to pop up in distant homes and businesses. Street lamps and traffic causing a throbbing glow. Luffy was near the coast – loving the sea view even though the kid couldn't even swim – his house in a relatively prime real-estate spot, but was a gift from his late uncle.

Zoro really liked visiting Luffy's because it was one of the few places he could get to on the first – or second – try. All he had to do was head for the sea, then from there stay along the beach until he reached the small cottage near the Little Garden Cliffs. It was an easy journey; unlike Usopp's house that seemed to move each time Zoro tried to find it.

With the setting sun glittering against the water Zoro pinpointed his destination and ran along the roof of the building, foot perfectly finding hold on the ledge as he pushed himself forward and he threw himself from the building toward the city.

Keeping the sea in view he decided to take a longer route to Luffy's. Enjoying the silence and comfort of being alone with his own thoughts after a day of teaching several kids martial arts classes and nearly becoming deaf by the end of a particularly rambunctious Judo session. Understandable, however, since after spring break they would be going to a Provincial Tournament and the kids were nearly having aneurisms in their excitement.

With the sun nearly non-existent on the horizon Zoro finally made it to Luffy's, not even bothering to knock as he let himself into the small house, and a shout from the living room announced that his arrival had been acknowledged. Making his way into the area he found Luffy laying on his stomach on the floor with his PS3 controller in hand as food and snacks literally littered the floor around him. Usopp was hardly any better as he lay on the couch with his head hanging off the edge, feet propped up on the back as he played the game upside down.

"Hey!" Usopp chirped with a grin, "You made it. We were starting to think you got lost."

"Shut it, longnose." Zoro grumbled with a grin as he shrugged off his pack and tossed it aside on the floor, eyes already intently glued to the large television set up against the wall. The screen split horizontal across the centre as both perspectives of their characters were shown. The game was paused but beyond that the arena and zombies were visible.

"We're playing survival mode." Luffy explained, tilting the brim of his straw hat out of his eyes to grin up at Zoro, "Level 15. You can try after we die."

"Sounds good to me." Zoro replied as he collapsed on an adjacent couch, not wanting to mess up Usopp's concentration as the boy hit play and the music once more blasted from the surround sound speakers. The setting that they had chosen appeared to be the inside of some creepy castle.

Usopp seemed to be cornered in a bathroom as he used a single shot pistol that effectively had a perfect one shot kill. Luffy however was running around in some sort of laboratory as he opted for a semi-automatic and just shot randomly. The kid was really good at the game, but he got way too much of a kick out of the sound affects.

"So, what happened with Prince's host?" Luffy asked absently, eyes remaining glued to the screen.

Before Zoro could even reply Usopp interjected, jerking his arms to the right as though moving the controller would somehow assist in the movement of his pirate, "You found that other spirit thing?"

Usopp was easily Luffy's closest friend and the poor host couldn't keep a secret to save a life – or rather he would keep a secret to save a life; but he couldn't lie for shit. It hadn't taken Usopp long to pry the truth from the boy and aside from freaking out a little when Luffy had stretched his face as an example the boy had taken it pretty well.

"Yea," Zoro explained with a smirk, "Blondie phoned almost within twenty-four hours. Didn't take him long to stop being such an idiot. Well," Zoro amended with a smirk, "Less of an idiot."

"Luffy says you like him." Usopp absently commented as he continued to remain glued to the screen, his voice going all mockingly girly as he asked, "That true, Zoro?"

At Zoro's indignant sputter Luffy erupted in laughter and consequently ended up with Zoro's foot imbedded into his rubber back, which did little to harm the boy and only caused him to burp obscenely and completely drop his controller as his laughter doubled.

Usopp paused the game with a mutter of, "C'mon Luffy, you're fucking up our score."

"Fuck off, Luffy." Zoro grumbled as he grabbed a handful of Cheetos from the table and popped a couple into his mouth, before turning to Usopp, "He thinks that because of our spirits, that that damned Curly and I will probably have a thing."

"Well, we all know you swing both ways." Usopp grunted as he picked up his half finished beer and took a swig, "Aside from the spirits; do you like him?"

"Jezzus." Zoro scowled in annoyance, "Why do you guys care so much about my social life? Why aren't you out with your girlfriends?!"

"We _are_ your social life, dude." Usopp commented dryly as he gifted Zoro with a pointed stare, "Besides, we have an active sex life; you're the one practically married to your job."

"Okay, I really don't need to be told to get laid by Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum." Zoro bit back, "I'm perfectly capable of being in a relationship if I want to be."

"So why don't you like him?"

"He's not my type." Zoro shrugged as he eyed Usopp's beer and began to think it was time to grab one for himself. Partially to quell his thirst and also to get away from this damned interrogation, "Simple."

"Mhm." Usopp hummed in a tone that could either be him admitting that he didn't believe Zoro, or that he was giving up on the subject. And knowing Usopp, Zoro had a feeling that it was most likely the former. Usopp didn't press, however, and pressed continue on the game.

Zoro knew that his friends only really had the best intentions when trying to set him up with people, but usually he knew when he was ready to go for someone or not. And it wasn't that Sanji was unattractive – once that pesky issue involving him thinking that Zoro was a rapist was resolved and he was no longer getting lamps thrown at his head – Zoro had actually been able to appreciate that the man was easily categorized as fucking gorgeous.

But, Sanji had very clearly stated that he was straight and – though it was a shame – that was the end of it. Zoro wasn't foolish enough to chase a man that was clearly not interested, and was far too busy to put effort into it otherwise. Regardless of what Asura and Prince might plan on doing, in the end Sanji was the road block.

Pulling himself from the odd course of thoughts he firmly pushed all thoughts of spirits and hot blonds to the back his head as he watched the zombie killing. They were now almost to Level 19 and Luffy didn't even pause the game as he stretched his rubber neck out to grabbed a mouthful of chips, before returning it to its normal length and chewing on the chips without breaking eye contact with the screen.

"I still can't get used to you doing that." Usopp muttered around a mouthful of Doritos, orange chip chunks falling from his lips as he spoke, "Never will."

Luffy just cackled happily as he continued to remain enraptured by the game, every once in a while extending his rubber neck so he could snatch a bit of his sandwich or take a sip of his beer. The drink caught his attention and Zoro suddenly noticed how dry the snacks had made his throat.

Zoro asked absently as he pushed himself up out of his seat. "You got beer, yeah?"

Usopp's eyes were glued to the screen but he was still conscious enough to respond somewhat dully, "Yeah..." Zoning out for a few moments before continuing, "In the fridge. Don't get lost."

"I'll unplug the console." Zoro responded venomously as he strode from the living room and into the kitchen, barely getting into the room before Asura's raspy voice rung inside of his head, and Zoro quietly wondered why everyone felt the need to bother him with questions tonight.

"_When can I see Prince?"_

The voice was unexpected. Bodiless in the empty kitchen but Zoro had long since gotten used to Asura's sudden needs to whisper questions or snide comments into his ear. Spirit just out of sight, his bodiless voice echoed in Zoro's ears while the man continued pulling three new beers from the fridge.

"_I don't know."_ Zoro thought back in response, as he absently popped the caps from the bottles without any assistance from the demon's aura, _"Sanji still needs some time to figure everything out."_

"_I am immortal."_ Asura hissed petulantly, _"Patience is something I have an unlimited supply of; but you should hardly expect a starving dog to sit still after you've dangled a piece of meat in front of it."_

"_I'm glad you finally agree that you have the same mentality of a mutt."_ Zoro thought back snidely as he took a swig of his beer. Grinning cheekily as he felt Asura's indignation roil up in a flare of embarrassment and anger.

"_Shut it."_ Asura growled,_ "You know what I meant."_

"_I did."_ Zoro chuckled as he began to make his way back out to the living room, _"But it's not me that has issues with a spirit in his body. Give him a week."_

"_I realize your sexual preferences are not a problem,"_ Asura began tactfully, but it was hardly necessary as Zoro already knew exactly what the demon wanted from him, _"So how much leeway are you willing to give me involving Prince?"_

Zoro paused for a moment to contemplate the request; realizing that it would result in his body being used against Sanji's. His hands would be touching the blond, his mouth would be assaulting those pouting smoker's lips, his body would be connected to Sanji's. It was a heavy train of thought that left Zoro momentarily uncomfortable at the idea of his body being involved sexually without him being in control of it.

The host quickly shock off the odd thoughts that were leading him into weird types of psychoanalysis and casually raised a shoulder to show how little it bothered him. _"I honestly don't care. But it'll be Sanji you'll have to convince; he's as straight as Grand Line Boulevard."_

Asura seemed content with the reply for now as he made no reply and didn't make any motion to press the matter further. Instead the demon whispered, _"After tonight you'll have to start mentally training the boy." _Asura murmured thoughtfully,_ "We need to make sure he can properly channel Prince's magic if we want to find Blackbeard."_

"_Yeah," _Zoro agreed absently, knowing that inevitably Zoro would have to enlighten Sanji to the more heavier reasons behind the spirit's existence, _"I'll go bother him after work tomorrow."_

Zoro appeared back in the living room in time for Usopp to swear violently at both him and Luffy having been done in by several zombies in a room vaguely reminiscent of a giant freezer. A monster zombie sat frozen within the middle of the chamber towering above the two dead pirates. A controller was tossed to him in annoyance and Luffy and him began a new round.

~X~

Sanji returned to his apartment after just finishing a near eight hours total of exam hell and collapsed on his couch to lazily examine all of his studying supplies that was laid out across mostly every surface and space on the floor. The past two days had consisted of him cramming for his Law 201 exam and his following Business 200 and with those out of the way he only had one more remaining. He had two days left to cram for the Macroeconomics 200 midterm that he would be writing on Friday. He resolutely did not want to be bothered until he firmly believed he could get a score that would keep his father off his back for at least a couple weeks.

Sighing heavily he went to brew a pot of coffee as he prepared himself for another couple of hours studying before going to bed and doing the same thing the next day. A good couple hours passed in silence, only the flipping of pages and the occasional scribble a sign that there was a presence in the apartment. When Sanji managed to get halfway through he finally threw the text from his lap and leaned back in his chair with a groan. Placing his hands over his eyes that were sore from so much reading, he massaged them gently as his brain continued to whir with everything he had just reviewed.

Letting his hands fall away he arched in the chair to get a few kinks from his neck and glanced over at the coffee table. Eyes passing all his notes and books and levelling on the orange specs that sat innocently on the wooden surface, looking completely inanimate. Leaning forward in his chair he extended a hand toward the glasses before catching himself, forcing himself back into his chair as he shook his head in reprimand.

"Don't you even think about it." Sanji muttered to himself as he glared down the glasses. There was no way he was going to give in and get distracted; who knew how much time was consumed in the real world when he conversed with the spirit in his mind.

And yet... It was such an extraordinary situation that it only tempted Sanji further.

The simple idea that he was now bonded with a magical spirit was enough to make him reel. Confusion aside, the improbability of it all only made it that much more interesting to explore. Not to mention he was also a little guilty at leaving Prince alone in those glasses for the past couple days while he had been studying, but he had felt that conversing with spirit would only distract him.

Sanji gave in and snatched up the glasses, looking at them wearily for only a moment, before putting them on resolutely. It was almost disorientating to be sitting in his living room, and then to blink and suddenly be situated on a beach. Stumbling a bit as his mind transported him from lounging his his chair to suddenly standing on uneven sand.

Prince was already standing in front of him awaiting his entrance, looking as regal and wise as the last time Sanji had met him. Young appearance a false shield for how old he really was. A charming smile lit up his face as he nodded in greeting to Sanji.

"Hey." Sanji muttered, not exactly sure how you were supposed to greet a thousand year old spirit that was now inhabiting your body.

The spirit inclined his head formally before murmuring, "Sanji."

Sanji was left speechless. Just standing once more in this false reality while faced with this spirit was so amazingly unbelievable that he wasn't sure what to do. Childhood imagination and young fantasies of things like this had always plague him but never had he believed it to be possible. And now that it was it just left him in awe.

"So how are you feeling now?" Prince asked softly, "Compared to a few days ago?"

Sanji stood quietly in front of the man as he searched himself for any kind of anger, confusion or fear that could explain how he currently felt regarding the spirit, but he came up with absolutely nothing. His mind and body felt like they were adrift in a sea of calamity. Studying had left him feeling a bit exhausted but aside from that there was nothing else currently running through his mind.

"I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to feel." Sanji admitted finally as he gave a small shrug, "The whole mess with Zoro and you; I thought I was losing my mind. Now that I know I'm not everything else just seems surreal..."

"So you still don't believe that this is real?" Prince asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"No..." Sanji paused for a moment as he tried to figure out how to put his current emotions into words, "It's just that I'm not sure how I'm supposed to react now that I know this is all real."

"You seem a lot calmer than yesterday." The spirit intoned lightly, "You don't even feel the least bit agitated. Just calm."

The spirit was right.

Since the night before he felt astronomically better and could hardly explain how easily it had been to let his frustrations and confusion go and just go along with everything. He felt bad for initially over reacting but he felt it was only fair. Zoro wasn't exactly the best messenger of supernatural events. Molestation in alleyways and climbing through windows didn't exactly instil confidence in others when you wanted them to listen to your potentially lunatic ramblings.

Regardless, now that Sanji was completely assured that this was all real he felt that it was almost simple to accept it. An odd transition from being nearly ridiculing in his disbelief to calmly accepting the matter. Though, now that the facts were all laid out in front of him and he could see for himself that he wasn't delusional, it seemed like the only rational thing to do was go along with the course of events.

What use would it do him, or Prince, to throw a hissy fit and try to deny that all of this was happening?

It would just waste the spirit's valuable time and make him appear like an immature idiot to not only the spirit, but Zoro as well. And now that Sanji was aware that the green-haired man was not, in fact, a raving lunatic, Sanji felt a small bit of his old high school competitiveness return with his need to prove himself to the nonchalant host. If Zoro could so calmly accept his spirit then so could Sanji.

Prince smiled warmly, as he obviously could feel the whizzing thoughts swirling through his mind before murmuring comfortingly, "Well, I'm glad that you are taking this so well."

They began to walk along the shore of the beach, shoes disappearing from their feet with a single thought and they strode barefoot along the wet sand. Waves crashed along the imaginary shore and slid up to swirl salty water and sand debris around the two men's feet.

Though the spirit looked easily around Sanji's age, standing so close to him Sanji could feel the insurmountable power and wisdom that could only come with age. It was akin to walking next to some omnipotent ethereal being that was clearly not of the human world; a being of a different time and age that held more knowledge than would ever be revealed to Sanji in his short time on earth.

The heavy aura made Sanji uncomfortable and at the same time shameful. Guilty to be standing side-by-side with this man – this idol – that was so far above Sanji that he should only find a spot underneath this man's feet. Prince however, seemed unfazed by Sanji's dilemma and instead walked beside Sanji as though he were an old friend, a content smile on his young cheeks.

"Nothing much is going to change in your life." Prince murmured gently, "Aside from me and my friends hopefully being put to rest at some point; all I ask of is your support."

Fair enough, Sanji thought absently. Showing his understanding by giving a small nod. Though he had to admit he was a complete amateur at putting a spirit to rest, he had no clue what he was even supposed to do.

"Though, there is the small matter of Asura." The spirit continued calmly and the simple words had Sanji stiffening at the man's side. Sanji's discomfort hardly went unnoticed and Prince continued, "I realized from last night that you seem to be extremely distraught over the fact that Asura and I have a connection."

Sanji tried and failed to hide a blush that prominently arose on his cheeks as his mind helpfully supplied more images of his and Zoro's bodies in compromising positions due to the spirits. Quickly shaking those disturbing thoughts from his head he looked up at Prince and mumbled morosely, "I don't want to keep you two from each other."

"And that is very considerate of you."

Prince's tone was so comforting it only made Sanji feel guilty for his previous behaviour regarding the spirits. Letting out a heavy sigh of regret he calmly tried to reason with himself that it wasn't that big of a deal. Looking at it logically, he'd already kissed Zoro once under the influence of the spirits; it shouldn't bother him that much.

"Well," Prince began calmly, "Can I at least speak to Asura?"

Sanji whirled to look up at the spirit, eyes wide as he realized with some shades of horror and embarrassment that the spirit had actually thought Sanji was so adverse to the idea of the spirits communicating with each other. Stumbling over his words he managed with some degree of disbelief, "Of course you can! I wouldn't – I'm not."

Prince chuckled lightly, blue eyes sparkling with something that Sanji couldn't quite read, "I'm aware you never maliciously wanted to keep us apart. But this is your body; so, your rules."

"I would've – you two – you guys deserve to be together." Sanji fumbled as he placed a hand at the back of his neck, rubbing guiltily, "I'm not so selfish as to keep you apart."

Prince smiled gently, "That means a lot."

"J-just..." Sanji felt his cheeks once more heat up and scrunched up his nose angrily at being unable to control his own embarrassment, "Just nothing else. For now!"

Prince arched an elegant brow as he watched Sanji stutter out his conditions. The look however only causing Sanji's nervousness to double, "Y-you know, until I have a chance to think everything else over a-and-"

"I understand what you're trying to say." Prince chuckled as Sanji completely gave up on his jumbled speech, "And you can be assured that I will keep my word."

"Alright." Sanji let out a heavy breath he hadn't known he had been holding in. A small part of him had been concerned that the spirit would be upset by his request, "Thanks."

"No, thank you." Prince urged sincerely, "Not many humans willingly give up their bodies for another."

"Yeah, well-" Sanji mumbled awkwardly before his words were interrupted by resounding noise. A knock echoed throughout the the world – loud and resounding – it rung from the heavens and caused Sanji to glance up at the sky in confusion, trying to locate the source of the sound.

"It's probably from the outside world." Prince muttered as he too casually glanced around the beach, "Probably someone at the door or something."

Sanji nodded and quickly bid the spirit farewell before closing his eyes and reopening them in his real body. The knocking had become much louder upon reentering the actual world, and leaving the comfortable shades on his nose he made his way to the door.

The door swung open to reveal Zoro leaning casually against the door jam in a tight fitting blue shirt and his trademark ripped jeans. His brown eyes flickered to the glasses and seemed to inspect them for moment before making a small sound of understanding, "So that's what took you so long."

Sanji raised a hand to gently touch the rim of the glasses – almost to assert that they were actually on his face – before letting his hand drop, "Yeah. Still getting used to the whole thing."

"Uh huh." Zoro grunted in acceptance before pushing himself off the doorway and sauntering past Sanji, ambling into the blond's kitchen without invitation, leaving Sanji at the doorway somewhat dumbfounded by the man's behaviour. "So what's there to eat around here?"

"You think you're suddenly welcome here now?" Sanji asked in disbelief as the man pulled a bagel from his fridge and promptly took a large bite. Sanji desperately stomped down the urge to swat the piece of blueberry bread from the bronzed man's grip.

"Well, yeah." Zoro mumbled around the bread, spraying a few crumbs as he tried to speak, "Just because you now know of the connection doesn't mean you get to just ignore it now. We have work to do."

"Yeah, I do have work to do." Sanji responded in annoyance, "I'm supposed to be studying for my midterm. Get out."

Sanji swiftly pointed toward the door, levelling Zoro with a stubborn look to prove that he wasn't up for arguing on the matter. Zoro stayed leaning against the counter, casually chewing on the bagel as his eyes flickered from the door then back to Sanji. A grin broke out across his face and he watched Sanji enigmatically, eyes dancing with mirth as he was clearly silently challenging Sanji to get him out of the room.

"I mean it." Sanji tried again, once more jerking his arm toward the door, "Get out or I'll call the cops."

Zoro remained watching him in humour and Sanji was beginning to get annoyed by that smirking condescending face. The host took another large bit, and chewed the bread in a purposefully slow manner that was meant to be taunting, before he finally swallowed and grinned, "You didn't call them last time. You won't this time."

"Different reasons." Sanji sniffed haughtily as he lowered his arm and instead placed it with his other as he crossed them both over his chest in annoyance, "Last time I thought you were a crackhead trying to rape me; now you're just an annoying trespasser."

"And yet you let the rapist in, and kick out the friend?" Zoro placed the last bit of bagel into his mouth, raising an eyebrow and he managed around the bread in his mouth, "You got some weird kinks you want to tell me about?"

Sanji flustered slightly at the man's logic before recovering and growling, "Let me rephrase that. You are keeping me from studying and if I fail I'll be murdered by my father. Now, get out!"

Zoro finished off the last of bagel and chuckled at Sanji's response, clearly not the least bit concerned about Sanji's father and the very real threat he posed to Sanji's life. Instead he just grinned, punching Sanji in the arm as he passed the blond and made his way into the living room, "C'mon, I need to teach you something."

Sanji stood in the kitchen for a moment fumbling over his indignant reply at being completely ignored by the green-haired man. A heavy sigh escaped Sanji as he gave up, rolled his eyes in exasperation and followed the man. He was slowly starting to learn that Zoro was clearly one of those stubborn people that never took no for an answer.

Zoro had already made himself comfortable on the couch and Sanji tried to ignore how fast the man made himself at home within Sanji's apartment. Sanji collapsed in the chair across from the man, cleaning up the scattered notes that he had laid out everywhere from his earlier studying.

"So I guess I should start by explaining the connections that you have with your spirit."

"Start wherever you want," Sanji huffed irritably, "I don't care."

"You should." Zoro muttered cryptically before smirking, "There's some pretty cool stuff that I want to show you about the spirits, but I can't do that unless I know you can fully communicate with Prince."

Despite his annoyance Zoro's words sparked his curiosity and he asked suspiciously, "What 'cool stuff'?"

"Secret." Zoro placed a teasing finger to his lips as he smirked, "If you want to know then we have to do this training first."

A silent glaring battle ensued between the two hosts as proverbial electricity crackled and flames arose in the torrents. Neither seemed ready to give an inch but Zoro had the ally of curiosity on his side and it wasn't long before Sanji was itching to know what exactly him and Prince were hiding.

"Alright!" Sanji finally conceded as he threw his hands up in exasperation, "Explain and let's get this over with."

Zoro seemed extremely satisfied by Sanji's complacency and immediately dove into his speech, holding up a hand he extended three fingers, "There's three basic connections you have with your spirit."

When Sanji didn't interrupt with a witty quip or any sound of boredom Zoro continued, "The first one is the basic soul switch that you've been experiencing where Prince takes your place in your body and you are transported into your mind. The second is when you are both conscious within your mind and your body goes in a comatose state. The last one is like the second but instead of both being present in your mind, you are both present in the outer world and it's a kind of merging of the souls where one soul is present in the body and the other can can hover nearby." Zoro grinned, "Simple, right?"

"Yeah, sure." Sanji admittedly skeptically, "Already done two of those."

"Once you figure them out they're simple enough to switch between." Zoro explained, "But they aren't really essential. You need to learn the third one if you fully want to learn what I have to teach."

"Why is it important?"

"Can't tell you until you learn." Zoro responded cheekily, "Alright, now simply keep your eyes open this time, but allow your mental wall to lower to let Prince through. Like you want to talk to him."

Sanji wasn't going to argue, but he hardly knew how he was supposed to 'drop his mental wall' nor call forth the spirit. All of this was relatively new to him and he was still more shocked that he was capable of doing it than he was of actually doing it. But knowing Zoro, any and all complaining that he wasn't sure how he was supposed to do it would be met with only snide comments at his ability.

Instead, Sanji focused intently on the orange sunglasses seated calmly on the bridge of his nose, keeping his eyes open as he quietly called out for the spirit. A few failed calls with no replies left him feeling frustrated and he creased his brow in further concentration. It only lasted a second before there was the usual sinking sensation of falling into his mind and he was once more standing firmly in front of Prince.

Prince was watching him calmly, a small comforting smile on his lips as he muttered, "Good try."

Sanji glanced around the beach before quietly cursing to himself.

"Go again." Prince urged gently and Sanji quickly exited his mind once more. When Sanji opened his eyes and looked up at Zoro, the look on his face said that he definitely hadn't done it right.

"Again. Remember; it's exactly like conversing with him in here," Zoro tapped his temple lightly, "Just outside, okay?"

"But what am I supposed to be concentrating on; the other time it was like falling asleep." Sanji whined petulantly, "What am I supposed to do here?"

Zoro groaned slightly, "It's hard to explain. But the best way to put it would be... like a phone call. You want to call him out; talk to him."

Sanji once more stared at the glasses and concentrated hard – it was like trying to lift a weight that was just a tad too heavy – but after a small struggle Sanji felt something loosen in the recesses of his mind. He stared around the room as he tried to access what had possibly changed and nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Prince's voice emanating in his head, _"Bravo."_

"Jesus H. Christ! What the fuck?!" Sanji shrieked before turning to Zoro who watched him stoically, blinking once in a condescending way, "I hear him!"

"Pretty simple, huh?"

Sanji glanced around his living room cautiously, but no floating opaque spirit came into sight, nor any sign that the spirit was there in the least. Zoro watched silently as Sanji explored this new found ability, finally internally focusing on the spirit while mentally thinking, _"So you can hear me?"_

"_Clear as day."_ Prince murmured back, his tone reverberating pride, _"You can't see me but I'm right here."_

"Cool." Sanji murmured aloud, eyes slightly out of focus as he truly grasped the concept of this ability, slowly looking up at Zoro's grinning face.

The host's smile only broadened as he saw Sanji's look of elation at having managed to succeed, "Now you just need to practise."

It was almost weird at how simple it was to now converse with the spirit. Now that Sanji had managed to do it for a first time it was as though a wall had been knocked down and the flow of thoughts between the two was as smooth as water. Keeping the glasses on his nose Sanji calmly switch between the different mind states; almost amazed at himself how easily it was coming to him.

With prompting from Zoro Sanji attempted to switch mental positions with the spirit, and though it took a small amount of concentration, Prince was soon within Sanji's body and Sanji was floating bodiless beside him. It was the strangest thing he had experienced to date. Literally an out-of-body experience, he started in shock at his own body as it moved and breathed on its own. Prince in full control was smirking lightly, and Sanji just hovered there and watched in confused amazement as his own face smiled at him.

Nothing like seeing himself on camera or in the mirror, it was surreal in a way that left him breathless. Watching as a completely separate force was in control of his body and moved it without his permission. With a simple thought he once more switch back into his body, taking in a sharp breath at suddenly being in control of his own body again. Slightly breathlessly, Sanji looked up at Zoro, "That – that's so cool."

"Still want to kick me out?" Zoro bit back slyly, clearly basking in the glow of Sanji having been completely won over by this little bit of training. And thought it irked Sanji to see Zoro so smug, he had to give it to the bastard that this was astronomically more interesting than studying.

Instead of admitting to Zoro's small victory he turned back to the more interesting topic, "So what's this secret?"

"I'm saving it for later." Zoro taunted with a smirk, not even seeming the least bit surprised that Sanji was once more trying to pry the information out of him, "Besides I need to make sure you have good control over your connections."

Sanji was expecting a similar answer but it didn't stop him from biting out in disappointment, "You're no fun."

"Oh, I'm plenty of fun." Zoro sniped back mockingly before jerking his head toward the glasses, "Keep practising and I'll probably be able to teach you by the weekend."

Regretfully, Sanji didn't argue with the man since it was a fairly reasonable request. Though a part of him was absolutely positive that Zoro was only withholding the information just to be a controlling asshole. It was fine with Sanji, however, he was excellent when it came to being stubborn.

"So, that's all?" Sanji enquired, judging by the light entering his windows it was getting later on into the day and he was about ready to call it a day and head to bed.

"Yeah, but," Zoro began before his resolution seemed to trail off entirely to be replaced by a small blush, "Asura wants to know if he can see Prince."

The question had slightly caught the blond off guard but with relief he found that it didn't scare him nearly as much as he had previously thought it would. Of course, the spirits would simply want to be with each other and converse after such a long time apart.

"Yeah." Sanji conceded, "We already talked about it. I'm okay with it."

Sanji glanced around the papers and books still littering his living room and silently concluded that he could finish his studying tomorrow. Besides he assumed that Prince and Asura would want to see each other. After being so rudely interrupted by Sanji and Zoro in that alley they probably had a lot more to catch up on than just making out.

"Do you want to go for a coffee?" Sanji asked abruptly, looking up at the host whom seemed a bit shocked at the sudden request, "Before the spirits do their thing?"

Zoro crooked his lip up to expose a flash of teeth as he murmured charmingly, "Are you asking me out?"

Sanji was caught off guard with such a blatantly suggestive answer, but managed to fight down a blush while retorting with an indignant snarl, "As if!"

Zoro's grin only broadened more at Sanji's melodramatic response and reached out to ruffle the blond hair roughly, "Relax, blondie. I was just teasing. Loosen up."

Sanji only growled low in his throat as his hair was roughly tousled by the larger man's calloused hand, and quickly slapped the arm away with snarl. Gifting the host with an unimpressed glare he snatched up his jacket from a coat hook and proceeded to lead the annoying man from his apartment.

~X~

Zoro followed Sanji down the worn sidewalk as they made their way to a small cafe that Sanji claimed made one hell of a coffee and was only a block away. The host kept in stride beside the blond as the street remained empty in the early afternoon as most folks had already returned home for dinner.

The place was much like the bar in a sense that it had a very homely feel to it as the decor and wooden tones reflected a very relaxing atmosphere and many of the customers seemed to know one another. It completely contradicted what Zoro had immediately thought about Sanji. The blond was always dressed and acted in a way that he seemed like he'd be one of the masses that would frequent a Starbucks or any other mass-corporation.

Instead the blond walked up to the till and greeted the pink haired youth behind the counter with a casual friendliness and proceeded to have his order predicted by the glasses wearing teenager. Sanji nodded happily before jerking his thumb in Zoro's direction, "And something for my friend."

"Ah, black. Nothing else." Zoro stated to the expectant teen and with a snort from Sanji he was ushered to the side to await their drinks from the receiving counter. At Sanji's tone Zoro scowled, "What?"

"Nothing." Sanji shrugged innocently but it was obvious he was dying to make some sort of rude remark.

Their drinks arrived swiftly, both paying as Zoro's coffee was placed first followed by an extremely tall drink that smelled of mint and strawberries and had copious amounts of whip cream piled on top. It was Zoro's turn to choke down a laugh as he lead the way out of the small coffee shop.

Once they were out of ear shot of the people within the shop Sanji spun around and muttered a lowly, "Fuck off." In response to Zoro's snicker at his drink.

Out on the street the afternoon sun was barely able to break through the gaps between the buildings to lit up the streets of Grand Line and street lamps were already igniting to compensate. Making their way down the side walk neither said anything in the direction they were heading as they sipped at their drinks.

Even though it was hardly a fancy drink Zoro had to admit that the blond was right that they made one damned fine coffee. The bitterness was just right and had been blended to perfection with a mixture of some sort of spices to accentuate the beans. Sanji seemed to catch Zoro's reaction and grinned, "Told ya."

Zoro snorted quietly, unwilling to admit anything to the gloating blond as the man proffered his own drink in a crane like grip, dangling it between thumb and middle finger as he waved it in front of Zoro's nose tauntingly. Zoro watched the drink for a moment before Sanji muttered, "Try it."

Giving in Zoro snatched the drink up and took a regretfully large swig of the creamy liquid. It was sickly sweet on his tongue but was incredibly smooth as it glided over his tongue before swallowing it; a swirling combination of tart strawberry delight with a bite of mint that left his tongue tingling. Smacking his lips a couple times to try and remove the odd sensation he handed the drink back to the blond with mixed feelings.

"Good, huh?" Sanji boasted happily

It was actually fucking amazing, but there was no way in hell Zoro was going to admit that anything that girly that Sanji had an interest in was any good. Opting for a small grunt he took a swig of his own coffee, grateful from the black bitterness to wash away the tempting sweetness still left on his tongue as he muttered, "It's okay."

Sanji subtly rolled his eyes at Zoro's behaviour but nonetheless dropped the subject. They managed a few more blocks in silence and Zoro could tell Sanji was thrumming with confusion and unanswered questions as he tried analyze everything that had happened to him in the past short week. Sanji seemed to think he was good at hiding it but it was clear as day to Zoro how many questions he wanted to ask and how interested he truly was in this whole situation.

That was partially the reason Zoro pressed the blond so hard when it came to this. The man was damned stubborn and would hardly admit it to himself how much he was secretly loving all the supernatural events that were currently affecting his average life. Zoro could see it in every line of his body that even though he was fighting to stay normal another part of him was relishing in the attention. Despite his denial Sanji wanted to know more and that was why Zoro was so persistent.

Rounding a corner onto a side avenue they passed underneath a glowing street light as Sanji finally spoke.

"Before you came over Prince was mentioning that he wants to be put to rest." Sanji began thoughtfully, finger thrumming against the edge of his coffee as he seemed to be in deep thought, "And from the way he made it sounded there are more spirits than just Prince and Asura. Am I right?"

Sanji remained staring intently ahead of him as they walked and Zoro shoved his free hand into his pocket as he secretly smiled to himself. It was small moments like this where Sanji actually gave in to his curiosity that Zoro knew absolutely that Sanji was much more interested in the spirits than he let on.

"There are four of them." Zoro began simply, "The third is my friend Luffy. The fourth is the man responsible for this whole mess."

Glancing at Zoro with a frown Sanji asked, "You mean he's the reason they're trapped in these objects."

"He's also the reason that they are unable to move on to the next life." Zoro murmured quietly, "If they want to pass on then all four of them need to accept it; unfortunately we have no clue where he is."

"Awesome." Sanji muttered in disdain as he turned to look ahead of himself as they continued down the street. Zoro knew what had to be running through the blond's head. After how long it took for the three spirits to come together what were the odds of finding the last spirit, especially since Blackbeard would not want to be found.

An evil bastard that had not only be the cause for Asura's near death, but also was the cause for the Prince, Asura and Mugiwara to become trapped within these objects for the past millennium. Zoro wasn't exactly sure how everything would end up, but he was certain that it would probably end nearly as bloody as it had the first time. With the man being given a second chance at life it was likely that Blackbeard wouldn't easily give up his immortality.

None of this he would voice to Sanji however. Simple words just couldn't quite describe the situation they were in, couldn't possibly make Sanji understand what an amazing situation he was in.

"Seriously though," Zoro muttered, breaking the quiet that had begun to grow heavy between them, "Don't worry about it too much; it's not really a concern right now."

Whatever seemed to be running through the blond's head, he was certainly keeping it to himself and wasn't voicing a word of it to Zoro. Sanji's next question made it clear that he clearly didn't want to discuss anything else to do with the spirits for the rest of the day, "So, you okay to let the spirits hang for a bit right now?"

"Yeah, sure." Zoro responded absently, feeling an excited rush of emotion arise from the bandanna currently tied around his upper arm. It was always such an odd sensation to have Asura's emotions mixed with his own as well, and at times it left him feeling extremely overwhelmed.

Usually he was able to deal with it fairly well, but ever since meeting Sanji and therefore, Prince, Asura's emotions had been extremely erratic. Feelings that Asura had usually kept under such secrecy he now let run rampant throughout his mind in joy at having found Prince. Consequently it caused Zoro to feel the strangest feelings for Sanji at the most odd of times.

Glancing over at the blond he fought to keep a small smile from working its way onto his lips. The blond was extremely attractive, and after Usopp's and Luffy's prodding he had to admit that if Sanji was in anyway interested he probably would find himself starting to like the blond. Aside from his fiery temper, it was hard to not like the blond.

Vaguely, he remembered what it was like to kiss him. Not that it was much of a kiss before he was shoved away rudely and he was left trying to figure out where the hell he was and what had just happened. But he could faintly remember thin yet soft lips against his own, the faint taste of smoke on his tongue, and a hint of sweet aftertaste left in his own mouth. Eyeing up the paper coffee cup currently pressed up against those lips he wondered if the sweetness was because the man was an avid coffee drinker or something.

Sanji lowered the cup and let a small sigh at the rewarding flavour of the sweet concoction he had gotten from the cafe. Instead of focusing on those lips Zoro's gaze shifted to the elegant hand currently holding his beverage; long fingers covered in burns, scars and cuts from some kind of work that clearly made his hands a necessity. The memory of those fingers gripping the back of his neck desperately flashed through his mind before he finally looked away from the man.

The blond was definitely attractive, but it was obvious that it was only because of their spirits that Zoro felt anything at all. His emotions were intertwined with Asura's. Any and all interest that he possibly felt toward the man was merely the channelled lust of the demon currently melded with his body.

Despite his firm knowledge that it wasn't his own feelings being forced upon Sanji he couldn't stop himself from glancing back over to the blond. This time intently gazing at the blond's face which was slightly hidden behind wind whipped blond hair that hung to his cheeks attractively.

The similarities between Sanji and the images of Prince from Asura's memories were uncanny. Aside from all the physical attributes that made them seem like the reincarnated form of the other; it was the eyes. An eery blue that held far too much depth and yet concealed just as much; an ocean blue with the starkness of lightning that were so reminiscent of Prince's it was unnerving. It was no wonder Zoro could feel the longing emanating from the bandanna on his arm; Asura probably hated having to remain trapped in the garment while Prince was only inches away from himself.

Zoro let out a long sigh and looked ahead of himself as they made their way across the crosswalk. Sometimes the presence of Asura in his life was such a burden. Before becoming bonded to the spirit he had never had to deal with such overwhelming emotions and thoughts; and he certainly never had to channel the love of thousand year old demon onto another person. Zoro vaguely wondered how much Prince's influences bared down on Sanji.

Once on the other side of the street Zoro tossed his empty cup into a nearby trash can and pulled the bandanna from his arm as he turned back to the blond whom was just finishing his own drink. With the bandanna in his hand and the connection less strong the farther the garment was from his mind, the less he felt of Asura's overbearing presence.

It was almost an easy relief to look at the blond and not feel a shred of attraction. The evidence only strengthened his belief that he in no way had any feelings for Sanji. All and anything he felt was merely the influence of Asura's hardly concealed passions for Prince.

Sanji also tossed away his finished drink and pulled his glasses from his pocket, flicking the arms open smoothly before sliding the rims onto his face with an ease that suggested he had done it a million times before. A moment passed and then Sanji blinked, and when the eyes reopened – while they didn't look different in any way – it was obvious that Prince was now in control of Sanji's body.

Zoro took it as his cue to also retreat and swiftly put on the bandana as he shut his eyes and he handed his body over to the demon.

~X~

Prince's eyes snapped open and he stared ahead at Asura as he too became in control of his body. It was an interesting thing to watch as the spirit possessed Zoro's body. The man's body language changed in volumes as Asura took control of the man. A happy smirk worked its way to the corner of Asura's lips as he grabbed Prince and swiftly pulled him into a hug.

Crushing him against the muscular body of the young man he was inhabiting as his own arms came up to hold Asura tightly. Even though it had been barely a week since they had seen each other it had felt like years as their reunion had been cut so short. Asura eventually let him go enough so that they could stare at each other fondly and Prince couldn't stop himself from grinning stupidly.

There was an entirely different feeling of happiness that surged through Prince as he stood in front of the demon and realized that in this moment he had all the time in the world and all the permission needed to stand with this man and be uninterrupted. Instead of feeling guilty about falsely standing somewhere without Sanji's permission, he was now allowed to stand in his lover's presence and just be allowed to soak it in.

Reaching out he clasped both of Asura's hands and leaned in to rest his head against Asura's shoulder, breathing deep the musk of steel and allowing it to fill him to the brim. Completely at peace as he stood with the man in silence and just allowed their bodies to touch like they hadn't done in centuries.

"Ash?"

Asura responded with a grunt, though it was affectionate as he let Prince know that he was indeed listening to the warlock. Hands tightening slightly to indeed let him know he was listening as he continued to nuzzle his face into the warlock's shoulder.

"What was it like for you after the spell was cast?" Prince asked quietly, silently remembering his own journey through centuries of darkness before finally finding his way out of the glasses. It had been terrifying standing alone in complete darkness and all he could think about was whether or not Asura was okay.

"It was mostly just darkness." Asura murmured after a moment of thought, before he continued, "Just standing in the dark for an eternity. Time just sort of blended together."

Prince made a small noise as the description sounded incredibly accurate to what Prince had also experienced. He wasn't sure why he believed it might be any different, but part of him had been worried what the magic might have done to the demon. How many years had he worried that perhaps he had killed the creature?

Asura was far too perceptive at reading Prince's body language and his hands were released as they opted for holding the blond comfortingly. Large hands roamed his back as they rubbed soothingly to reassure the man that everything was indeed okay.

Instead of continuing down a road of painful memories and lost years Asura grinned cheekily against the shell of Prince's ear before murmuring, "I bet you're itching to test out your magic."

The sudden thought of going all out against the demon thrilled him. Releasing all of his restrained energy and allowing himself to completely fight Asura like they hadn't done in years; it made his blood rush in his ears at the very thought. The warlock's head shot up to stare at the demon in barely restrained elation.

Asura's hand came up to gently smooth out along Prince's jawline before muttering, "Knew that would cheer you up."

Prince loved how easily the demon could read him – though at times it could be a little annoying – and he swiftly pulled away from the demon and grinned broadly, "What're we waiting for?"

~X~

They found their way out into the outskirts of the city; far into the forest where their presence would neither be detected nor interrupted. The small clearing they happened upon was fairly large – easily wide enough for a quick spar – and would serve perfectly for Prince to test the abilities of his newly acquired magic.

Asura made his way over to a tree on the edge of the clearing, plopping down casually, arms crossed behind his head as he watched Prince with a warm expression. It reminded Prince of when they used to go out into the forest and the demon would lay contentedly in a patch of sun, warming himself as Prince quietly practised his magic. The memory tugged at his chest painfully and he quickly turned away from the warm black eyes watching him, no doubt reliving some similar memory.

With Sanji and his connection now fully formed Prince had been itching for a chance to test out the full extent of his magic that had been locked away for the past thousand years. Taking a stance in the middle of the small clearing, he steadied his breathing while concentrating on withdrawing his magic.

While being stifled by Sanji his magic had been contained as though by a funnel, the massive amounts were retained behind a wall while only sparing amounts were slowly trickled out and allowed to be used. But now that the wall had completely broken it was though a dam had burst and the magic was flowing through every fibre and vein in his body; surging and swelling as it nearly overflowed.

Shifting his foot out to ground his stance better he began to let the magic flow from his body. The dirt around his feet began to kick up in small clouds of dust, and few small pebbles bouncing along the surface as the current became stronger. Prince kept his eyes shut as he continued to release the magic, the feeling akin to letting out a breath he had been holding for far too long.

Asura sat up slightly in interest by this point, black eyes reflecting the glowing blue aura that was now completely enveloping Prince's body as it weaved and crackled with life. Prince's eyes flickered to the demon fondly before focusing ahead once more. Clasping his hands together sharply like he used to do while preforming old rituals and incantations, he focused the magic and let it release in a wave.

The energy surged outward in a sudden wave, kicking up torrents of dirt and causing debris to go flying with the force of the small explosion. The trees were forced outward, their trunks creaking in the wind and few even breaking and toppling over. A spiral of blue energy entwined around Prince as the flow became stronger as he honed it down until he had enough control over it perfect a shield around himself.

Asura just remained sitting where he was, unfazed by the surge of magic and instead pushed himself to his feet with a grin. Holding his palm out in front of him he circled around until he stood facing the warlock and conjured small amounts of black aura within his hand. A flick of the wrist had the magic soaring through the air directly at Prince, faster than a simple metal bullet made by man and a million times more deadly.

They hit the blue veil and disintegrated on contact.

Prince smirked in challenge and narrowed his eyes, keeping his hands clasped as he made the shell even harder. Asura took the challenge silently, flicking more black spears at the shield; the force clearly doubled. The blackness reached deep into the wall, but was still stalled before it could reach the warlock.

In a small swirl of dirt Asura launched himself into an assault, dodging to the side and continuing firing the black aura. Testing all around for weaknesses. Prince focused on strengthening the areas that Asura were attacking, eyes darting around to try and keep track of the leaping demon.

Kicking off a tree – uprooting it in the process – Asura attacked from the top before landing behind Prince, throwing both hands behind his back and charging the black aura before whipping them forward and releasing the wave of demonic power at the back of the shield and the weakest point in the warlock's defence. Prince finally broke his rooted stance to turn and throw his arm up in an arc to create a wave of blue magic for the blackness to deflect off and go flying into a nearby tree.

Both demon and warlock stood panting lightly as they watched the other with entertained grins. The tree that had gotten hit had already begun to wilt from the aura, the leaves falling to the ground and the white trunk turning a sickly black. Asura was the first to drop his aggressive guard and began laughing, "Well, at least we know you haven't begun to suck any more since the last time we fought."

Prince lowered his arm as well as he returned the grin, eyes flickering to the blackened tree that was now dead, "Always nice to know you really try to kill me whenever we fight."

Asura's only response was a cheeky laugh before he crouched low, one hand placed against the ground as he felt for the subtle vibrations that he could sense from Prince's body; a small change in his breathing, the irregularity of his heart beat and even the tiniest movement of his foot was all under his finger tips. Other arm raised above himself, he easily coated it in a large layer of aura that pulsed and weaved around his forearm before coming to a sharp point just off the end of his hand.

Prince returned the small laugh and slowly raised his right leg, coating it in massive amounts of blue magic as he steadily squared off against the grinning demon. Seemed like the demon was itching of a serious fight; not that he was any different. He may love the man, but just as much he craved the old fights they used to have while training where they tested their limits to the breaking point. Breaking bones, spilling blood, and fighting till every once of magic was drained from his body and his muscles quivered from the after shock of every blow.

Asura launched himself forward arm-scythe swinging at full force as Prince blocked it with a just as powerful kick from his leg. The blue and black aura clashed together as Asura leaned in to grin excitedly and Prince inhaled sharply at the memorable sting that rung through his leg from the blow from the demon.

The clash was broken as both warlock and demon jumped away from the other and stood on opposite ends of the clearing. Blue flames still rising from Prince's leg as Asura flicked his wrist and enlarged the aura blade from a simple dagger to a full length broadsword. With a grin Prince launched first, seemed that Asura was _really_ itching for this fight; getting serious right off the bat.

Appearing at Asura's side he used his momentum to swipe a kick right for the man's jaw, a move that was easily dodged as Asura ducked and turned to deliver his own blow. Falling into a handstand Prince blocked the sword with his calf, twisting on his hand to kick the blade aside and follow through with his other leg to clip the demon's jaw.

Prince's foot barely made contact before the demon spun out of it and dropped low to swipe his leg at Prince's hands causing the warlock to push himself away from the advancing demon. Once more back on his feet he was immediately assaulted by a grinning Asura as a large gash was noticeable on his left jaw bone.

Blow after blow was exchanged between the two as the fight continued on. Each getting their own grazing attack in but neither fully winning or managing to pin the other for long before they were knocked aside and the fight continued. Trees were demolished, craters were left in the dirt, and blood was spilt as the fight went on.

Asura was sporting a black eye and his shirt was completely burned on the left side exposing a few broken ribs as the skin was stained red from internal bleeding. Prince wasn't much better with a large gash on his upper left arm making it useless to hold his weight on and steady stream of blood came from his hairline to drip into his eyes and block his vision. Their panting breathes were heavy as each was beginning to reach their limits.

Jerking his head to the side Prince dodged a skillful jab and darted inside of Asura's guard, foot hooking behind the demon's ankle which had Asura tumbling backwards to the ground. Blazing foot already raised Prince intended to slam the damned demon's face right into the ground.

At the last moment Asura flashed Prince a smirk and the warlock realized a moment too late that he had gotten caught in the creature's trap. Asura spun out of the path of the kick and used his momentum to bring his arm down to catch Prince directly in his exposed back. Barely managing to get his leg around in time he caught the blade with his calf before it could hit anything vital.

Remaining balanced on his bad leg with his weaker one blocking the blow, he struggled to hold off the aura blade as Asura's face hovered inches from his created sword. Eyes sparkling mischievously before they flicked down to something that Prince clearly had not noticed.

Glancing down, he swore vulgarly as he noted the hand that had managed to swiftly sneak into his guard, fingers bared against his gut in a clear signal that the demon could have ripped out his guts if he had really wanted to. Instead, a small concentration of demonic aura was swirling in the palm and Prince's head snapped up just in time for Asura to whisper silkily, "I win."

The aura expanded explosively and sent Prince flying backwards, his back slammed up against the tree roughly and his head was thrown back as he let out a small grunt of pain from the impact. Not even a second later the demon was pressed up against him, hands holding him desperately as a rough mouth was placed over his.

Prince only broke the kiss for a moment to spit the blood from his mouth before latching back onto Asura, biting aggressively at the demon's lips while his arms wrapped around the man's neck tightly. Hands grasping jerkily at the demon's shirt and neck as he tried to pull the man closer in for the kiss. Asura returned the kiss with just as much heat as he sucked on Prince's tongue wetly, hands coming down to grip Prince's thighs.

The grip was tender – almost close to worshipping – before the hands tightened and pulled Prince off the ground, forcing the blond to wrap his legs around the demon as he pressed the warlock harder up against the tree trunk. One of Asura's hands reached past to grab a branch on the tree and used it to pull himself in to rock against Prince's growing erection. The demon's own hardness rocked against his as his inhuman strength grinded him into the tree.

Along with the perfectly timed thrusts, black tendrils began to slip under Prince's shirt to assist with removing the clothing and for a moment Prince forgot about his promise. Faintly remembering long ago encounters with the demon where this identical aura would wrap around him and made him twist in pleasure while the demon would watch with hungry yet adoring eyes. One began to slip down the waist of his pants and a flash of how that hot black aura felt while wrapped around his length invaded his mind before it snapped him back into clarity.

A wave of blue magic instantly had the blackness evaporating and Prince was left leaning against the tree – panting heavily as he tried to catch his breath – while an angry demon leaned against him with confusion. Asura pulled back to glare at Prince, but when all he got in return was Prince's guilty moue, the anger dissipated.

Gently, the demon reached out and tucked a blond lock behind an ear before whispering low, his voice containing hints of confusion and fear, "Pry?"

Pry's eyes snapped up to Asura's at that, hearing the slight fear of rejection that was in the demon's tone. He wrapped his arms swiftly around Asura's neck and pulled him in close, running a hand through the neon green hair in comfort as he murmured, "I can't. I'm sorry. I promised Sanji."

Asura stiffened at that explanation and he removed his head from Prince's chest to glare up at the warlock in annoyance, "What did you promise that human?"

"It's his body, Ash." Prince murmured soothingly as he gently stroked the demon's neck, remembering how easily that rendered the demon incapacitated, "I can't go beyond what he's comfortable with."

Asura pouted heavily at that before muttering, "Zoro doesn't care."

"Yeah, well. For the time being, Sanji does."

A low growl started from deep within the man's chest as he continued to hold Prince tightly against the tree. The disappointment was evidently clear in the lines of his body as he slowly slunk to his knees and left the warlock sitting in his lap, back still resting up against the trunk of the oak.

"Hey." Prince commanded in a slightly irritated tone as he grabbed the sulking demon's chin and forced him to look up at the warlock. Black eyes met his reluctantly, but upon meeting his blue seemed to melt; if only just a little, "Just be happy that we're here now. That I can hold you."

Asura continued to growl in annoyance, the angry grumble coming from deep within his throat, but his body had completely relaxed. Asura kept his head down to try and hide his disappointment from the warlock but was unable to keep his body from melting into Pry's touch to completely contradict the demon's pouting rumbles. Nuzzling his head into the warlock's chest the two remind sitting quietly underneath star lit sky and left them in a tranquil state.

TBC...

* * *

A/N: I'm excited for the next chapter. *Places tips of fingers together while cackling evilly.* That aside I hope you liked this chapter :) Also, just to let everyone know that I am working on Chapter 9 of Of the Sky! Apologies for the delay but Sorcery and Cinders completely captivated me for the moment. I'm trying to multi-task! lol


	5. Chapter 5

It wasn't long before the chill of the night became apparent to the human bodies they were inhabiting and Asura pulled away from the wizard. He knew Zoro had classes to teach in the morning, and even though his magic could simply rejuvenate the man's body; nothing seemed to really compare to an actual night's sleep when it came to a human body. Asura paused in asking Prince if he was ready to returned when he noticed the wizard's attention was drawn away.

Asura cast a quick glance behind to note the object of the warlock's attention. For a moment he remained puzzled by the twinkling sky and illuminated trees before he noticed the large dead oak that leaned lamely to its side while awaiting its eventual crumble to the earth.

With only a moment of hesitation, he slowly removed himself from the wizard – ignoring the small sound of confusion from the man – and made his way across the clearing. Distantly, he could sense Prince watching him as he neared the now dead tree that had unfortunately suffered collateral damage due to their fight.

Asura placed his hands on the trunk of the tree, gently cradling the chard wood and curling bark that had been killed due to his own magic, and slowly began releasing his own energy back into the poor life form. The process was slow but he was already able to discern the steady rejuvenation of the blackened bark as it began to regain its healthy hue. Almost as though he were rewinding time, he watched the destruction receded.

There was a time long ago when seeing an object of such vibrant, living beauty become rendered into nothing more than a gnarled, ugly shadow of its former self would have made him gleeful. It was a sick and twisted joy he got from destroying the wonderful things in this world in exchange to match his rotten soul.

And yet...

Yet the meeting of a simple wizard had changed everything. The evil and the hatred was there – always lurking beneath the surface with a burning ferocity that made Asura test his limits daily – but it hardly gave him the thrill it used to. Instead it felt more like an immature habit that he had picked up long ago and was now merely trying to break; not that it was in anyway easy.

Back before he had been summoned up to earth he had none of the morals or ethics that were strangely attributed to this human body that he had obtained. Instead every action and motive was fuelled completely by his instincts, and his blood lust was unimaginable. That blackness still remained somewhere deep inside of him even now; a strong wanderlust to tear the life from a living, writhing body. Have his hands squeeze the soul from some pitiful human as it begged for mercy and be able to feel the life cease to exist underneath his fingertips...

And through all the malicious thoughts and malevolence that flowed through him and had been sewn into his very being upon creation he had been able to cast it all aside for one man and see life in a new light. Desperate to only know how Prince had felt and saw the world, Asura had fought his very instincts to see life from the wizards eyes and it had been extraordinary. Like finally opening his eyes for the first time and seeing the colours of the world in new shades, hews and tones; emotions mixed with the visual leaving him utterly breathless.

How it could have ever compared to his petty happiness at destroying such beauty was beyond his demon mind, and yet since that day he had never let go. Whenever his true nature fought to take over he thought of the first time he had stared into those blue eyes – the first time he had _really_ stared into them – not when they were shadowed by his hate of the world, not when he had been glaring them down. But the moment the wizard had shown the demon what the world could truly look like, and he had turned to the warlock in wonder only to be meet by a pair of sparkling blue eyes that rivalled the stars in their intensity and the sun in its radiance.

Those eyes haunted him, haunted and inspired him like no errand from hell ever could. Whenever evil nipped at his heels, whenever his instincts rose up, when the blackness that lurked beneath his human exterior threatened to burst free he thought of those electric blue eyes that had stared at him – in mirth and fondness – and desperately held onto the fact that he never wanted to lose them. Never wanted to go back to his old self and be unable to stare Prince in the eyes without feeling utterly breathless.

The warlock probably had no idea how utterly captivated the demon had become with him. He knew Prince was loyal to him but not in the way Asura was to him. The reason for his existence and the only thing keeping him bound to his body was that wizard currently inhabiting some boy's body, and as wise and learned as he may be, he was truly oblivious

A demon always took.

Greed being among the top of the list of sins, it was a second nature for a demon to suck the life out of everything around it, take from the innocent and feed off the scum of the earth. Not once did the need to give or help ever cross the creatures mind, but that was exactly what Prince had taught him.

Casting out his magic, he poured it in, instead of taking it away. And though a primal part of him snarled at such compassion while giving up his own life force, something so much more unknown left him feeling warm and satisfied as his magic went to someone other than himself.

Satisfied.

That was the word.

More full than any meal could make him feel, any soul that he would suck from a creatures living body, or any gratifying feeling he got while using his maliciousness to turn humans against each other. Dark mind games and manipulation was pleasing indeed but he never felt the fullness that accompanied when he actually managed to assist mankind instead of hindering it.

The last of the dead, curled leaves unfurled as they were lit by a vibrant green and the tree shuddered in the night breeze as though it were taking its first rejuvenating breath of life after being suffocated. Asura gently let his hand fall away with a small quirk of his lip the only tell that he was happy with himself.

With the tree fully restored, Asura took a few steps back to appraise his work. Vaguely remembering the first time he had done it and how proud the damned warlock had looked, though had still managed to give a few snide remarks afterwards to try and conceal his happiness with the demon. The spirit cast a look back at the now current wizard expecting a broad grin but was startled to find Prince looking at him utterly stricken.

Not a single trace of awe or pride, just a single pained expression that was etched into the warlock's face as his mouth was slightly parted in his stupor. Asura nearly started at the reaction, not entirely sure how he was supposed to react to the wizard's shock. Eyes darted back and forth hurried as he tried to wrack his brain for any form of explanation as to why Prince was looking at him that way.

"You remembered the spell?" Prince asked quietly, a mixture of emotion's beginning to surface on the warlock's face that Asura was having trouble cataloguing properly before more would replace the former one's; awe, disbelief, remorse, happiness, guilt. A collage of various feelings flitted over the man's face and the few he managed to catch left the demon confused and flustered.

"Y-Yeah, of course." Asura stuttered out, not quite sure if he had done good or bad in the eyes of the warlock and awaited a more clear reply as he wearily sized up the blond. Prince stood numbly for only a moment before he was diving into the demon's confused arms and holding the man tightly to himself.

Asura stood paralysed for only a moment before his arms settled around the blond and a fond smile broke out across his features. Placing a hand on top of Prince's head he gently stroked the silken blond strands as he slowly began to fully realize what had most likely gone through the warlock's mind. Prince had probably started to doubt Asura's resolve.

Demon's weren't exactly known for their ability to love. He knew what he was better than anyone else, and though Prince accepted it completely, it still seemed that the warlock had his doubts from time to time. The wizard probably thought that the demon's feelings would have wavered in the time they spent apart. Snarling lightly, he held the blond tighter in an odd combination of punishment and reassurance as he muttered quietly.

"I remember everything you taught me."

Asura revelled in the way Prince's hold tightened even further, his actions speaking louder than any words possibly could. The warlock's face remained buried in Asura's shoulder, and the demon preened quietly to himself in the knowledge that he had pleased his master.

It was always a guessing game when it came to warlock; always trying to discern if what he would do would annoy or please the man. Prince was only human, so his heart was always worn on his sleeve, but a demon was born to do the exact opposite; lie, hurt, and misguide. Even in their former life it had often been a problem; Asura constantly learned by watching Prince, but still had never fully comprehended exactly how Prince's morals worked.

Prince finally pulled away and he seemed to have taken the time hiding in Asura's shoulder to compose himself so he didn't look nearly as affected by Asura's actions as he did earlier. Asura didn't understand human emotions well, so that was mostly to blame for his stoicism and monotone replies, but he always found it oddly cute when the wizard tried to maintain as unfazable as the demon.

"Clean yourself up." Prince chided with a small laugh, "We can't give them back their bodies in this state."

The demon cast a glance over the clotting lacerations and various bruises that were blooming into life over Zoro's body before rolling his eyes and dropping to the ground with a small grumble of resistance. Setting to work on the largest of the wounds, Asura hovered a hand above a particularly nasty bruise that had definitely cause some form of internal damage as he allowed his black aura to radiate from his hand to heal the wound.

As the magic did its work the demon glanced over at the seated wizard as he set about his own process of healing himself. Asura loved watching the warlock at work, his healing much more than just a skill or a task, it was a passion that he wove into a work of art each time he summoned his magic.

Prince let his palms display up wards as he slowly jerked his wrists in small circular motions to create two small balls of blue energy that began increasing in size. The magic swirled with the grace of simple currents flowing through water and were soon nearly engulfing the warlock's hands. Prince carefully turned his hands on himself, pressing the two glowing orbs against his chest as he sighed in the relief that the magic gave him.

Asura watched quietly as the cuts and bruises seemed to heal as though through a time vortex. The lacerations receding into a thin line of irritated red before even that faded into a scar and was swiftly erased. The same backwards process affected the rest of the wizard's wounds, evaporating bruises and swiping away scrapes until the pale skin was left as unmarked as a fresh canvas.

Electric blue eyes turned onto Asura and the wizard quietly beckoned the demon. Asura paused for only a moment before crawling over to where the warlock sat and crouched obediently between his knees. A small smile quirked the wizard's lips as he was no doubt reminded of Asura's old behaviour back when they had their old bodies.

A gentle hand tipped Asura's face to the side as the other was placed on his cheek, the magic still flowing within his palm was then guided to soothe Asura's wounds. A happy sigh flitted past Asura's lips as the warlock's soothing magic began to course throw him like a toxin, numbing all pain and cooling all the irritated areas. Prince's magic always felt akin to a cool salve being spread across an inflamed wound, along with all the calmness it brought.

His own magic was like coarse, gritty sand being ground into his wounds in comparison. It was just another addition to the list of pros and cons of being created out of pure evil. Not even the things he did to himself could be considered in any way peaceful or gentle.

Prince's cradling hand pulled away and Asura slowly let his eyes flutter open, dopily looking up at the wizard whom was watching him fondly. The hand returned to ruffle the demon's hair as he muttered, "C'mon, home time."

Asura reluctantly agreed, though not before darting in quickly and pressing his lips against the warlock's, dragging his sharp tongue across the warlock's lips slowly and basking in satisfaction as he felt a small shudder shake the man's body. Eyes flicking to his healed wounds he murmured quietly, "Thanks."

~X~

Sanji exited the hall, shoulder bag slung over his shoulder as he balanced his economics textbooks precariously and made his way through the halls and toward the entrance. Leaning lazily on the escalator he took the opportunity to fix his books before the automatic stairs kicked him off at the bottom floor. Casting a glance at the large clock stationed conveniently in the centre of the campus; stating that it was nearly eight and Sanji silently cursed his professor for having the a late night exam.

Out on campus he made his way down the front steps, eyes widening in shock when he noted a familiar face staring back at him. The green-haired punk had his hands shoved into the pockets of a worn leather jacket as he grinned up at Sanji, and a brunette was by his side wearing a ridiculous straw hat and was waving at Sanji like he was an old friend.

"Hey, curly!" Zoro barked friendly as Sanji made it down the rest of the steps in front of the two, wishing he had a free hand to flip off the annoying man. Instead he cast an odd look over the excited boy and glanced at Zoro, raising a brow in silent request for an explanation

"Sanji. Luffy." Zoro introduced formally, "He's a host like us. Thought you might like to meet."

Sanji's eyebrows were in danger off being lost in his hair line as they raised in surprise, looking over goofy boy in shock. This was the infamous Luffy? He was almost the exact opposite as Sanji had pictured when imagining one of Zoro's friends; he was thinking more along the lines of tattoos, a grumpy expression and terrible social skills.

This boy looked so innocent that he could've probably been in high school still and didn't even know the opposite sex existed yet. Wide curious eyes and cheeky grin reminded him of child who knew he was going to be taken to the play ground and then get ice cream afterwards.

Covering his slight disbelief, Sanji adjusted his books to shake the boy's hand, resulting in knocking one of the texts from his arms. Luffy's arm extended beyond normal limits and snatched the book from falling to the ground, before it snapped back to its normal length and Sanji was left jaw dropped in disbelief.

"I always love that reaction." Zoro muttered casually to Luffy, though his eyes were directed to Sanji as he laughed at the blond's stunned expression.

"W-what the fuck?" Sanji managed, casting a glance around quickly to see if anyone else had noticed and found that the campus was clearly empty, most exams finished and people already rushed home to enjoy their Friday night in peace. Sanji glanced back at Luffy still open mouthed in confusion.

Luffy hooked a finger in his cheek and pulled the skin, extending it to almost arms length before letting it snap back into place, "I'm made of rubber."

"Y-yeah." Sanji managed numbly, staring at the cheek that had just extended beyond normal limits. Really, after dealing with Zoro, things like this really shouldn't be shocking him anymore. Shaking his head with an accepting sigh he muttered, "I can see that."

Seemingly happy with the course of events Zoro scooped up half of Sanji's books before he could even protest and then jerked his head toward the student parking, "Good. I have my car. Let's go."

"Go?" Sanji enquired in annoyance, "Go where?! I just finished my midterms; I want to go home and nap."

"It's Friday. We're going to go have some fun." Zoro explained casually as he opened the drivers side and looked back at Sanji, "And since you don't seem to have any friends we're dragging you along."

"I have friends!" Sanji shouted indignantly, but Zoro had already gotten in and slammed the door before he could hear Sanji's reply. Aggressively pulling the door open he climbed in, slammed the door with the same amount of force and buckled himself in. "Where are we going?"

Luffy turned around in his seat and replied broadly, "Mariejoi!"

"Can I at least go home and change?" Sanji asked after a sullen moment, glancing down at his ratty jeans and worn Flash tee shirt. It was hardly the apparel he wanted to sport when out looking for potential female conquests. There was a time and a place for when he had a craving for a superhero obsessed woman; and that time certainly wasn't at Mariejoi.

"Yeah, alright." Zoro conceded as he threw the car into reverse and veered backwards out of his parking spot, slamming Sanji's head into the door frame in the process. Before he could even grumble a complaint the car was switched into drive and was screeching out into traffic, nearly hitting a mini van.

~X~

At his apartment he gave a vague gesture to the kitchen and offered them to 'help themselves' as he quickly made his way to his bathroom. Desperately wanting to wash off nearly a weeks worth of laziness and grime from not showering due to exams. It was much shorter than he would've liked as he hurried worked shampoo into his hair, not wanting to keep them waiting too long.

An insufficient towel dry and Sanji rooted through his closet, towel hanging dangerously low off his hips as he tried to find something appropriate for Mariejois – something nice but not classy. Dragging out his favourite black jeans that accentuated his legs perfectly and a casual emerald green tee shirt, he was stumbling into a pair of boxers as he made his way into the bathroom to locate his deodorant.

In less than five minutes he was ready and came out to find that Luffy had helped himself to nearly half of his fridge and Zoro had broken into the scotch. Watching the two men pillage his food like a couple of pirates he silently wondered what the hell he had gotten himself into with these hosts. It only partially saved his sanity that he had seemed to be bonded to the only levelheaded spirit out of the group.

"Okay." Sanji announced with a small spread of his arms to indicate his appearance, "I'm ready. If you're done eating my food we can go whenever."

Zoro glanced up from the glass he was currently downing, eyes jerking over the blond's appearance quickly before muttering, "You take longer than a girl."

The jab caused a twitch of anger in his eyebrow but he managed to fight it down in place jerking a thumb towards the door and muttering, "And you look like something the cat dragged in. Let's go."

Bringing the bulging sandwich along, Luffy ambled over to the door happily as Zoro quickly capped the bottle and replaced it in the fridge. Ushering them to the door before they took anything else from his house, they all slipped into their shoes – Luffy struggling as he tried to eat the sandwich at the same time.

"You'll get to meet Luffy's girlfriend," Zoro explained as they exited Sanji's apartment, pausing in the hall as Sanji turned back to struggle with his keys as he locked up, "And a couple others."

"Do they all know about the spirits?" Sanji asked absently as he jiggled the doorknob slightly to the left while twisting the key viciously to get the deadbolt to properly slid into place. The finicky knob had been like that since he'd first gotten the place and he still hadn't gotten around to fixing the damned thing. Throwing his keys into his pocket he followed the other two hosts toward the stairwell, passing the still 'OUT OF ORDER' elevator.

"No, only Nami." Zoro muttered before reaching over and punching Luffy in the arm, "Thanks to Captain Rubberdick over here."

"I told you that was an accident!" Luffy protested petulantly as he rubbed his arm with a small scowl before snapping out and landing a solid punch in Zoro's side.

"I did NOT need to know that!" Sanji shrieked as he clamped his hands over his ears in a desperate attempt to try and stop the mental image from burning into his brain. Maybe if he plugged his ears it would somehow stop the information from continuing on to his brain and mentally scaring him.

"Accident my ass, you kinky pervert!" Zoro shouted as he tried to get past Luffy's blocks and land a solid hit, one hand tangled in the boy's red vest as they both nearly tried tripped down the stairs in their struggles.

"Too much information!"

"Let go of my nose!"

~X~

They arrived at Nami's apartment frazzled; Luffy and Zoro both calmly sitting in the front with several bruises from when they had fallen down nearly a flight of stairs when Luffy had accidentally tripped over his flip-flop, and Sanji sat silently crying in the back as the image of the boy's rubber appendage simply wouldn't leave his mind.

The woman standing out on the sidewalk awaiting them was a vision and Sanji immediately perked up as he tried to get a better look. Thin, yet with amazing curves she wore a skimpy skirt that exposed most of her milky thighs, and a tight top that presented her ample bosom. A jewelled necklace hung down to attractively settle between her breasts as silken orange hair fell around her shoulders. Beautifully styled into casual ringlets that only slightly hid the large hoops dangling from her ears.

"You're joking..." Sanji muttered on a breath before leaning forward between the two front seats to get a better look at the woman they were approaching. He cast an incredulous look at Luffy before turning an accusatory stare to Zoro, "How the fuck is he dating _that_?!"

"_That_ is the devil in disguise, and the only person that could probably deal with Luffy."

After some pathetic stuttering he fell into the back seat with a pitiful whine of remorse as the car halted. What cruel God out there present Luffy with magical rubber abilities and the hottest girlfriend on the planet, and left him bonded to a homosexual spirit that wanted to bone some stupid back street punk? It just wasn't fair.

The adjacent back seat door opened as the woman stepped in and all of Sanji's previous whining was put on hold as he sat in silent awe at the true beauty he was presented with at such close range. Desperately fighting to keep his mouth from hanging open he looked her over.

"Nami." She introduced sweetly, offering her finely manicured hand for his and he took it gently, giving a small shake as he numbly noted her features much closer. If seeing her standing at a distance had left him breathless, than up close was near to putting him into a coma.

Gorgeous, wide brown eyes stared at him happily and were bordered with just the finest amount of makeup to make them stand out further, and a thin layer of lip gloss to make her pouting lips shimmer. Her smile was sincere and Sanji had no clue why Zoro would call this woman a devil.

"Sanji." He replied quickly, releasing her hand reluctantly and casting a quick look at Luffy. The damned kid must have been some sort of miracle worker to capture the attention of this living goddess.

"So, you're a part of this whole supernatural trio thing?" Nami asked lightly as her eyes raked over the blond critically as she pulled out the seat belt and clipped it in. Her sharp eyes were scanning him critically as though trying assess if there might be anything wrong with him, considering he was now part of this weird trio with a rubber man and a green-haired demon.

"Ah, yup." Sanji placed a hand on the back of his neck, scratching nervously as he chuckled, "Unfortunately."

She smiled at the small jab, though her eyes still seemed to be glancing over him critically and he assumed that he wasn't nearly done being judged by the gorgeous ginger. Not that he really minded being stared at by such a beautiful woman, but if she was involved then he had class enough to not bother a taken woman. Though that really didn't stop him from taking subtle glances down her shirt for the rest of the drive...

~X~

They arrived at the club and were greeted by a couple other boisterous people whom Sanji quickly deduced must all have the excitement levels of Luffy. A boy that seemed to be very close Luffy with an interesting skin tone and slightly obnoxious nose greeted the straw hat wearing kid cheerfully, as a couple other were already chatting. Nami was already beside a gorgeous brunette with interesting Salsa styled dance wear, and another with purple dyed punk hair whom was dressed a little less formally than the other two.

Zoro waved to a pal of his and Sanji reluctantly tagged along at his side – unfortunately this piece of moss was the only person in this group he actually knew – and he was introduced a man with various tattoos and an interesting Mohawk who went by the name of Wyper.

"Took part in the same mix martial arts elimination tournament." Zoro explained as he clapped a hand to the man's back, "We were among the top five left."

"Impressive." Sanji commented lightly as he shook the man's hand, he seemed nice enough but had a stoicism about him that surpassed even Zoro and bordered on warrior-like.

Thankfully the interactions didn't last long and soon everyone was piling into the club. I.D.'s were quickly flashed at the door and small cover charge paid before they were inside the pumping building where the music was practically beat into your very bones. Voices were drowned out and the only hint as to what he was supposed to do was a gesture of Zoro in the vague direction they should head.

In only a few short moments he was lost in the crowd of thriving bodies, people dancing and talking to one another – shouting over the loud music to be heard – and Sanji quickly found that he had entirely lost sight of any of Zoro's friend. Part of him groaned in annoyance, wanting nothing more than to slink back out without anyone noticing and go back to sleep in his own bed.

Yet the alcohol was already calling to him from the bar and the fact that he was able to sleep in tomorrow was a welcome encouragement. Besides he shouldn't waste a perfectly good opportunity to dance with some gorgeous girls when he had already gotten showered and everything. Giving in he began to sidle his way between the bodies to get closer to the bar.

Managing to get around a rather large group of young girls dancing together he was almost at the bar when a glass appeared in front of him. Glancing over to see Zoro with his own in his hand, Sanji accepted the drink – not bothering to shout over the music – he just mouthed a reluctant 'thank you' to the man. He could get his own drink for fuck's sakes.

"You look a little lost." Zoro growled into his ear, and though the closeness was necessary due to the loudness of the club Sanji couldn't help but shudder as he wished Zoro wouldn't stand so close. Pulling back Zoro gestured with his head toward a couple double doors with a glowing red EXIT sign above it and started to make his way over.

Sanji followed and soon they were in a small lobby like area with a desk in the corner with a girl sitting behind it looking decidedly bored. As soon as the doors shut fully behind them the music was muffled to extremely tolerable levels and Zoro made his way over to the girl.

"They tend to do their own thing once we get here." Zoro explained casually as he shucked off his leather jacket and tossed it to the girl behind the counter, placing his free hand on the surface to await a stamped number for his coat. "We try to regroup at around two and make sure everyone's got a ride home."

"Aren't you driving?" Sanji asked bluntly as he stared down at the large pint Zoro had just set down on the counter. Zoro just started to laugh as Sanji handed over his own hoodie to the girl. "What's so funny?"

"Naw," Zoro muttered as he managed to stifle his laughter while undoing the bandanna from his left arm, rolling it up and tying it around his forehead like a headband. The black material covering just his forehead, making his neon hair stick up like a peacock, "It's just cute how you still think of things normally."

Sanji silently watched Zoro's motions as he put on the bandanna, eyebrows furrowing in annoyance at Zoro's subtle teasing. It wasn't until the girl returned from putting away their jackets that Sanji realized exactly what the bandanna represented and allowed his eyes to widen a fraction at how oblivious he had been.

At Sanji's small look of realization Zoro muttered cheekily, "You got it." Before snatching up his drink and heading back over to the inner club. Sanji watched as he went, the door opened for a moment and the pumping music was amplified and the flashing lights were visible on Zoro's body and the flooring around him before he disappeared within.

The pressing of the inked stamp to the back of his hand drew his attention away from the man and back to the cute girl behind the counter. He offered a formal thanks and a compliment that left her blushing before following Zoro out back to the dance floor. Inside he was once more assaulted by the music that would leave him deaf and disoriented for days and found that Zoro was long gone.

As he wove and made his way through the throngs of gyrating people his free hand slipped absently to the glasses in his pocket, fingering the hinge slightly as he still tried to grasp the concept of his bond. He still had a very light grasp on what exactly he was capable of doing with this connection. Sure there was bound to be some form of magical side affects considering it wasn't natural for a spirit to inhabit an object in the first place.

It made him curious to know the extent of what his body was capable of doing with the assistance of the spirit. He wasn't exactly sure what Zoro had been referring to earlier but he had made it pretty obvious that intoxication wouldn't be a problem due to Asura. Would the same be applicable to Sanji? Would Prince somehow keep him from inebriating himself or something?

Drink finished, he quickly ordered three shots of Morgan's with the urgency to get himself at least a little tipsy, this whole spirits thing was weighing on him and for a night he'd just like to forget about all of it. Giving the bartender a bill he quickly tossed them back as he waited for his change. Slamming the final glass down on the counter he collected his change and slipped it into his pocket before ambling out onto the dance floor.

It didn't take long to find a cute girl that easily fell into his embraced as she grinded up pleasantly against him, her gorgeously tanned thigh between his as one hand twisted in his hair and the other teased the edge of his shirt. The girl was hot, with electric blue hair that matched her lustrous personality and mysterious aura. She had summer shorts on which allowed Sanji the occasional pleasant grope of soft skin and her spiralled shirt was practically an invitation to stare at her boobs and he wasted little time in ogling them happily.

The alcohol began to happily kick in and he tilted her delicate chin up, staring into adorable brown eyes before placing his lips over hers. The kiss was hot like an Arabian desert and had him curling into her further to get more of the spicy cinnamon taste of her lip gloss. Music faded and the lights were non-existent – he didn't even notice the random people that bumped and shoved into them – everything was solely the delicate lips and sweet tongue against his.

She kissed back enthusiastically, grinding against him with precise twists of her hips that had his knees going slightly weak and was tempting his hands to start to explore more intimately. Hands skimping her shirt up higher he was able to finally ghost them over her amazingly tanned torso and appreciate the full curves of her body. Just as he was getting tempted to ask her back to his place a girl appeared at her shoulder, looking disapproving and making a gesture toward the exit.

The girl immediately turned off and disappeared into the crowd and the blue haired girl pulled away with an apologetic frown before murmuring, "Sorry, that's my only ride."

Sanji reluctantly let her go, but kept the ridiculous grin plastered onto his face as he watched the last of her blue hair disappear into the crowd. The pulsing of the music was stifling, Sanji could feel it as it beat into every cell of his body and the flow of alcohol through his veins was affecting his vision as the lights flashed intensely. People bumped into him as he they danced in ways that told him they were even more drunk than he was.

Giving in he began to gyrate to the music once more, the feeling of moving his body lessened the pressure of alcohol on his sight and he closed his eyes. Everything just began to blend together as he moved to the music; stress, worry, and troubles melted through the soles of his shoes and into the floor and freedom filled his chest.

Strong hands came to rest on his hips, as a vaguely familiar, muscular body pressed into his from behind, matching his hip movements perfectly. Eyelids far too heavy to turn and see who it was he merely continued dancing, enjoying the feeling of a solid surface to not only lean against but also grind his body into.

Alcohol surging through him he wasn't nearly as appalled at the idea of a man grinding against him as he usually would be and so for a moment relished in feeling while his hands dropped down to lightly rest on the one's holding him so possessively. A moment of rum induced confusion while he noted that the hands felt slightly familiar before casting a glance over his shoulder and inhaling sharply.

Sanji's heart jumped into his throat as his drunken stupor fled in a second flat as he turned in the strong hold to practically bump noses with Zoro, staring up into dark eyes that danced with mirth and the colours of the flashing lights of the club. His body continued to rock in a sexual rhythm as his hands held Sanji close and moved the blond along with him.

Unconsciously, Sanji's hands snapped to Zoro's biceps for something to hold onto and steady himself from the sudden rush of alcohol and lust that surged into his head at once. Sanji remained limp as a sure Zoro moved them both and Sanji went along with it, rational thought and judgement drowned out long ago by the Captain.

Everything was overwhelming; the pounding music that was both deafening and shook the club with its intensity, the flashing multicoloured lights were blinding and changing with inconsistent frequencies, and the bobbing, throbbing mass of people who were dancing made the entire scene so staggering.

Those strong arms slid further around Sanji's waist as Zoro pulled him in closer until his thigh was hotly placed between Sanji's legs. His dark eyes were staring at him with such blatant desire and intensity that made Sanji shrink back slightly as the lights continued to play on the man's face and lit up the sheen of sweat on his skin in bright pinks and blues. His forehead was hidden by the black bandanna, but his green hair still stuck up crazily.

...the bandanna.

Sanji inhaled sharply as Zoro leaned in, hot mouth biting his lower lip as he whispered desperately against his lips, "Let me see Prince."

There was a small, alcohol induced moment of confusion before anger washed away all traces of non-sobriety and left him seething with hatred at the spirit, and also at himself. How could he be so stupid to actually think it was Zoro? How could he have gotten so drunk to even _let_ the idea of Zoro touching him be okay?!

Sanji promptly brought his knee sharply into Asura's gut as he gripped the demon's head and pulled him down, keeping the knee pressed sharply into his gut he yelled threateningly over the music into the man's ear, "As if I'd let you molest my body, you fucking demon."

Asura only chuckled in response and Sanji frowned as he looked down at his knee in confusion, eyes widening in shock as he found a mass of black aura keeping his knee from connecting with the man's body. It hovered inches from the man's torso – a pulsing wave of magic – keeping Sanji from even coming in contact with the creature.

Using Sanji's confusion Asura pushed Sanji's leg down and embraced him hard, allowing for no space between them where Sanji could try another attack. Sanji's face was crushed into Zoro's – Asura's – shoulder and he desperately tried to ignore how good the cologne Zoro had chosen to wear smelt.

"We've respected your wishes." Asura murmured hotly, "I won't molest _your_ body. But at least allow me and Prince time to enjoy."

It wasn't so much that he was annoyed at Asura and Prince for wanting time together – really he couldn't begrudge them that – but what really irked him was the fact that for one moment – one confusing, heart-stopping moment – Sanji had thought that Zoro had been looking at him in such a way. Eyes burning, face wanting, arms clinging; he'd never been looked at that way before. Never had he been directed a look that had said nothing but complete and utter devotion, and it was catastrophic.

It broke down all of his walls, left him feeling bare and yet at the same time and built him up and made him feel powerful. And all he could focus on was the fact for one perfect moment it had been _Zoro_ looking at _him_ that way. And even though he didn't like Zoro, even though he wasn't gay, just being wanted in that way had shaken him right down to his core. But as soon as that good feeling came it was gone with the fact that it had been Asura; Asura looking for Prince. And that simple notion ruined everything and left Sanji feeling hollow.

Sanji closed his eyes and berated himself for even reacting to Asura's advancements, slipping the glasses carefully from his pocket and placing them on his face. Keeping his eyes closed the whole time, not wanting to see the demon's mocking grin anymore than he already had. Slipping away into the recesses of his mind he handed his body over to the spirit as he silently pictured Zoro's eyes in his mind.

Drunken and broken – not even caring as to what it might mean – he pictured the moment he had stared up into Zoro's face and truly believed it was the same man looking back at him. Cutting off the memory just before Asura whispered in his ear he replayed the memory over and over in his head until he drifted off into as peaceful a sleep as he could.

~X~

Sanji awoke on his couch to the most amazing warmth, a radiating heat that had him curling into it and squeezing his arms tighter in an unconscious need to keep it close. A grunt and a tightening around his waist was all that was needed for Sanji's sleep riddled mind to realized that something was off.

His eyes snapped open and found his nose squished up against Zoro's clavicle, as ridiculously strong arms held him against the warm, hard body. Zoro's chin rested protectively on Sanji's head as his hands unconsciously held the blond's waist. Their legs were tangled together in an embarrassingly intimate way as Sanji's leg was hooked just a little too possessively over the sleeping man's thigh.

Zoro still seemed to be asleep judging by the deep, calm breathes that the man was still taking. Each inhale expanding his muscular chest and pressing against Sanji's front, leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination as to how built the man really was underneath the ratty old shirts and baggy hoodies he was constantly sporting.

With slight embarrassment, Sanji removed his arm from Zoro's waist, and his leg from Zoro's thigh as he tried to move as far away from the sleeping man as possible. Keeping his movements slow and calm so as not to wake the sleeping man he managed to get untangled enough to rest his head beside Zoro's on the armrest, though he had made little progress of getting himself out of the man's possessive arms.

What made Sanji the most confused was that he didn't _not_ like it. There had been plenty of times when he'd woken up after letting Jyabura spend the night and found the annoying man clinging to him while drooling. Sanji had been out of bed and in shower so fast he probably broke some world record.

But being here didn't bother him in the least – Zoro was drooling slightly and he was holding Sanji way too tight – yet he didn't really feel like moving. In fact he felt comfortable enough to close his eyes and try to perhaps drift back to sleep...

Sanji glanced up as Zoro's face scrunched up, mimicking the way he usually wound up for a sneeze before yawning obscenely and allowing Sanji to smell his morning breath. Some how managing to smell of tacos and beer Sanji was positive that some of his hair was singed by the rank odour.

Good feeling was gone.

No longer caring about waking the idiot, Sanji pried himself away from the bad-breathed beast, pushing himself up until he was sitting and was glad to note that _all_ of his clothes were still on. At least he knew that alcohol hadn't inhibited the spirits, or made them break their promise.

"Coffee?" Sanji offered as he stretched languidly, arms reaching above his head as he arched his back, his movement accompanied by a satisfied groan. Trying to remain calm and act as though waking up wrapped up in your friends arms was a normal Saturday morning occurrence.

"Please." Zoro replied thickly, smacking his mouth a couple times as he tried to get the feeling of cotton-mouth out from his tongue and the back of his throat. "A shower too, if you'll let me?"

Sanji climbed over Zoro and got to his feet, giving one last stretch and gestured vaguely to the hall that lead to his room, "On the right; towels in cupboard beside the shower."

Zoro nodded in quiet thanks as he pushed himself up so he was sitting and ran a tired hand over his face. Sanji made his way into the kitchen, not wanting to have to face Zoro with the awkward conversation of explaining why they were sleeping together. As he made his way out he casually noted the bandana that lay forgotten on the couch that must have slipped off during their sleep.

Remembering his own glasses, he pulled them off of his nose and placed them carefully to the side of the kitchen counter as he set about getting a kettle filled with water. As he turned on the element and placed the kettle on it, he noted Zoro's progress in his peripheral and casually shouted back to the man, "I said on the right, dumb ass. That's the closet."

"Shut the fuck up." Was the only reply he got before the bathroom door was slammed shut, and all that could be heard was the muffled sounds of Zoro changing. Sanji smirked and went about pulling out a couple of mugs, and his home made filterer as he awaited the kettle to boil.

As soon as the shower started Sanji placed both shaking hands down on the counter and let his head drop as he let out a small groan. The memories of last night were invading his head and the feelings of arousal, confusion and devastation were once more making his way through his gut. Vaguely remembering the hands that had held his hips so possessively, and the hard hips that had grinded into his so amazingly. Shaking his head to get he confusing emotions and images from his head, Sanji glanced through his hair in the direction of the shower.

Did Zoro remember any of it?

Asura had been in control so surely Zoro had drunkenly passed out in the recesses of his mind as the demon controlled his body. No, Sanji argued firmly, Zoro absolutely didn't remember a single bit of it and that was perfectly okay with him. It saved him the trouble of explaining that while he was drunk he obtained potentially bi-curiosity towards him.

Sanji groaned and dropped into a crouch, holding his head in embarrassment. Even in his thoughts that sound _so_ bad. And what if he was starting to realize his potential bi-curious self? What if he was starting to develop feelings for Zoro? What if-?

The shower shut off and Sanji's head snapped up suddenly knowing he needed to get a grip on his composure. Running a distressed hand over his face he pushed himself to his feet, fumbling slightly. Turning to lean casually against the kitchen counter he absently dug into his pockets for a calming cig, trying to ignore how jerky his hands still were.

Opening the kitchen window he blew the first stream of delicious nicotine out into the back alley and clung to the slight relief that the smoke gave him. Sighing heavily he reassuringly reminded himself that he was hungover and just a little stressed out thanks to everything that had happened these past weeks. He was reading far too deep into this whole thing; and what ever he thought he felt was obviously just side affects of sharing the same body with a spirit that happened to be in love with the spirit within Zoro. Whatever he saw or felt when looking at Zoro was merely the channelled emotions of Prince.

The kettle began whistling, and Sanji ground out the butt of the smoke in his nearby ashtray before he removed it from the element as he began to set up his manual filter and pulled a bag of pre-made coffee grounds from the cupboard. The rich-scented Cuban ground beans was like a small relaxant to Sanji`s overwhelmed and stressed out body, allowing him a brief moment of calamity to go through the comforting motions of his morning coffee.

It was short lived as Zoro exited the bathroom, completely dressed just as Sanji finished filtering the coffee. Pouring the steaming liquid into a large mug he handed it off to the man – remembering from their earlier trip to the cafe that Zoro took his black – who immediately knocked part of it back while leaning his hip up against the counter.

A silence fell around the two, only broke by the subtle noise made by Sanji's motions; the opening of the fridge and the adding of the creme, the clinking of the spoon as the sugar was stirred into the hot liquid. By the time his was ready Zoro was knocking back the dredges of his own.

"Thanks for the coffee." Zoro muttered lightly as he placed the empty mug in the sink after rinsing it, reluctantly adding, "Best cup I've had."

Sanji smirked triumphantly, bringing his own mug to his lips and adding before taking a sip, "Home made. No artificial shit."

"Figured." Zoro replied in a derivative tone that belied much more than he was saying before glancing guiltily at the door, "Sorry, for showering and running, but I have to get to work."

Sanji snorted at Zoro's odd guilt for wanting to leave, if anything Sanji couldn't wait for this awkward morning to end and they could go back to normal the next time they saw each and pretend they didn't just wake up holding each other, "It's fine."

They made their way over to the door, Zoro working at loosening the laces on his hikers that he had clearly slipped off his feet the night before as Sanji leaned up against the wall, cradling his morning joe reverently. Once more the silence fell so Sanji quietly requested, "Quick question."

"Fire away." Zoro replied as he began pulling on his hiker's and doing up the laces with swift movements.

"I tried to kick Asura last night and he blocked it with some sort of..." Sanji shook his head lightly as he still tried to picture it in his mind, "Black aura?"

"I'm surprised he didn't break your neck." Zoro snorted loudly, finished up the lacing and straightening before gracing Sanji with a raised an eyebrow, "Why were you trying to kick him?"

"None of your business." Sanji snapped back, "Answer the question."

Zoro shrugged, grabbing his bandanna from his arm and putting it on with practised ease, "Like this?"

With his arm extended, he snapped his fingers and all the bedding on the couch immediately jumped into the air, folding themselves neatly before dropping back onto the couch in a precise little pile. The pillow landing on top as the final finishing touch.

Zoro's hand lowered as he watched Sanji with an evil grin before opening the door and slipping out into the hallway. Sanji turned from the bedding that he had just seen fold itself like some shit from Harry Potter and open mouthed watched Zoro give a jaunty wave and say, "You know where to find me."

The door was shut and Sanji remained rooted by the door way, it took five minutes for him to finally move from the spot and get some coffee and another twenty to get the courage to touch the folded bedding and put them away in the closet.

~X~

Sanji sat in class, tapping a nervous finger on his laptop as his eyes trained on his phone sitting on the table, the rectangular device seemingly innocent. Yet if he really tried it would have the power to contact Zoro and have him answer all of his questions. So simple and yet Sanji was having an inner battle with himself whether or not to get a hold of the man.

He knew what Zoro was doing. It was the game they had been playing since the first moment they had met each other in that alleyway, hell it had even started the moment he had walked into that damned antique shop a month ago. This constant struggle between Sanji and this world that Zoro, Prince and Asura were trying to draw him into. Every little thing Zoro did; his knowledge of the situation, his control over Asura, this magic. All of it was a ploy to spark Sanji's curiosity and draw him further in.

And as much as he found this new world to be amazing he found that the more he was drawn into one, the less the other seemed to exist. His family was a distant thought and he had cancelled last Sunday on a falsehood that he wanted to study for a test. He barely talked to his friends anymore and school was starting to become further and further down on his importance list.

But...

Magic.

Zoro had used magic, or some sort of Satanic powers and as much as Sanji should be freaking out he instead was vastly intrigued. He didn't know much about Prince but he assumed he must have some sort of ability as well. That Mugi character was rubber for fuck's sake.

Zoro seemed like an idiot at times but he was no doubt intelligent. He knew that by simply giving Sanji a taste or hint of what was more then Sanji would simply do the rest. Zoro wouldn't have to contact him, persuade him or do anything all; just sit back and watch the curiosity eat the blond alive. Sanji deeply resented him for it, it would almost be easier for Zoro to ask, 'Want me to show you?' and Sanji to be able to say, 'Fuck no.'

And yet, it wasn't like that and now Sanji was completely ignoring Professor Lucci as he mentally battled with whether or not he should just give in and allow another aspect of these spirits into his life. It didn't seem to inhibit Zoro's ability to go about everyday life – in fact it probably made it easier since he could make his bed with a snap of his fingers – Sanji bit his lip in indecision.

Giving in he snatched up the phone and pressed the on button, scrolling quickly through his contacts until he found Zoro at the very bottom of the freaking list. He pressed on Zoro's name and was given the options to phone, text, or face time the man and he quickly selected text and typed in hurriedly.

_Teach me._

The green bubble popped up, and Sanji gave small nod to reassure himself that this was what he wanted. Turning the phone off he slide it into his pocket as he waited for a reply.

Class was nearly over when he felt the tell-tale reverberation against his thigh and he pretended not to be excited as he impatiently wrestled the device from his pocket. Sliding the green text box across the screen he was able to read all of Zoro's text and suppressed an annoyed snort.

_I'm sorry; there's only so much I can do to help people with their masculinity. I'm afraid you're a lost cause._

Smirking at Zoro's attempt at humour he replied quickly, _STFU. You know what I meant._

_Ask nicely._

_Please show me that magic thing._

There was a bit of a pause before Zoro's next reply, the grey bubble popping up after a few minutes.

_I finish work at 6. You?_

_School's over. I'm free._

_Meet me at Skypiea Tower at 7:15._

Sanji frowned in confusion, desperately wanting to ask what that building had to do with learning magic, but knew he either wouldn't get an answer, or he'd get a stupid reply so he only punched in two letters, _Ok._

TBC...

* * *

A/N: Sorry for such a long hiatus. A lot of stuff happened to me this summer; most of which I won't bore you with. Lol But I'm finally settled into my new house and have started my classes; so you can expect regular updates :) Man, I really missed writing...


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